Essentials for Building a Practice Model for Emergency Care Delivery in Southwestern Nigeria: A Scoping Review

Background Emergency care is a critical component of health systems and a major domain of nursing practice in tertiary hospitals. In Southwestern Nigeria, emergency departments face increasing pressure from trauma cases, population growth, workforce shortages, and fragmented service delivery. Despite the concentration of teaching hospitals in the region, emergency care often operates without a unified practice model to guide triage systems, workforce deployment, infrastructure planning, and governance. This scoping review aimed to synthesize existing evidence on emergency care delivery in Nigerian tertiary hospitals and identify essential components for developing a sustainable and context-specific practice model relevant to nursing practice and health system strengthening. Methods Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework was followed and was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus, African Journals Online, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar was conducted for peer-reviewed articles published between 2005 and 2025. Studies focusing on emergency care practices, workforce capacity, infrastructure, governance, and service delivery in Nigerian tertiary hospitals were included. Results Out of 427 records identified, 30 studies met the inclusion criteria. Four interconnected thematic domains emerged: infrastructure and resource systems; human resources and capacity building; governance and leadership; and innovation and collaborative practice. Key challenges included inadequate triage systems, equipment shortages, overcrowding, poor documentation, staffing deficits, workforce migration, and weak policy implementation. Although simulation-based training, mobile triage tools, and interdisciplinary teamwork demonstrated potential benefits, these innovations were largely pilot-based and not systematically integrated into routine practice. Conclusions Emergency care delivery in Southwestern Nigerian tertiary hospitals remains fragmented and under-resourced. Strengthening nursing capacity, standardizing triage protocols, improving infrastructure, enhancing leadership accountability, and scaling sustainable innovations are essential for developing a coherent emergency care practice model. Clinical Trial registration Number: Not Applicable