Pediatric Respiratory Distress
Learn how to recognize breathing problems in children. This course is for healthcare providers and community members—especially in low-resource settings—to detect the signs and symptoms of pediatric respiratory distress.
Audience: Physicians, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Community Health Workers, Respiratory Therapists, General Practitioners, Medical Officers, Midwives, Medical and Nursing Students, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Family Medicine.
Languages: English; Spanish
Format: Videos
Key topics: Pediatric Respiratory Distress, Pneumonia, Fast Breathing, Retractions, Chest Indrawing, Nasal Flaring, Head Bobbing, Cyanosis, Grunting, Upper Airway Obstruction
Pneumonia kills more children under five than any other infection, with over 700,000 deaths each year worldwide. Most of these deaths are preventable. The illness causes breathing problems that can worsen quickly, so healthcare providers must recognize the signs of respiratory distress in children early. Many lack the training or confidence to do so, which delays care and leads to worse outcomes.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person trainings for healthcare providers were abruptly canceled. Medical students and pediatric residents in low- and middle-income countries, tasked with caring for sick children, were no longer receiving the essential clinical training they needed. A needs assessment in Ethiopia revealed that many trainees felt unprepared to recognize respiratory distress in children and preferred video-based learning.
In response, we partnered with the University of Gondar to co-develop a video-based training on recognizing respiratory distress in children. Although developed in collaboration with Ethiopian pediatricians, the curriculum teaches core clinical skills to identify respiratory distress that are relevant to healthcare providers in all settings, regardless of location or resources.
Special thanks to those who provided videos and content used throughout the course:
- World Health Organization- Integrated Management of Childhood Illness
- OPENPediatrics
- Global Health Media Project
- Stanford Center for Health Education Digital Medic
- JETem
- American Heart Association - PALS Digital Reference Cards
- World Health Organization - Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children, 2nd Edition
- Dr. Douglas Sidell
- Dr. Damian Roland
- Rene Smith
- Lindsay Sharp
- Rhiannon Giles
- Kristin Blum
CME/CE credits are available for physicians and nurses. If you would like to earn CME/CE credits, please complete the course on one of the following platforms:
- Stanford CME website (English only)
- Digital Medic mobile app for iOS and Android (English and Spanish)
Access Resources
This project includes 6 videos accompanied with assessments, free for use under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
Download the Digital Medic mobile app
View and download all content in the free Digital Medic mobile app for iOS and Android. We recommend this option for learners in settings with limited data and internet connectivity.
Need help installing and using the app? View our Digital Medic Mobile App User Guide.
Questions? Contact us
Please reach out if you have questions or need to adapt the content for a different context.