# Collaborative development of a scoping review protocol to map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship: An International Initiative from COST Action TREASURE

## TL;DR

An international team created a structured plan to map tools that assess parent-infant relationships in early childhood, aiming to improve understanding and use of these tools.

## Contribution

A collaborative, standardized protocol for a scoping review to map parent-infant relationship assessment tools from birth to 24 months.

## Key findings

- A replicable protocol was developed using the JBI methodology and PRISMA-ScR standards.
- The protocol clarifies core constructs and age range using the PCC framework.
- The collaborative process involved multidisciplinary experts from multiple countries.

## Abstract

Early relational health during the first 24 months of life is a key determinant of child development and wellbeing. The parent–infant relationship plays a central role in emotional regulation, bonding, and developmental trajectories. However, existing assessment tools differ widely in their scope and characteristics, and no comprehensive review has yet mapped the instruments available to assess this relationship in early infancy. In response to this gap, a transdisciplinary working group within the COST Action CA22114 – TREASURE collaboratively developed a scoping review protocol to systematically map instruments assessing the parent–infant relationship from birth to 24 months of age. This Brief Report outlines the collaborative methodological process used to construct the protocol. Development followed an iterative, consensus-driven approach involving multidisciplinary experts from multiple COST member countries. Through structured online meetings, the group clarified core constructs and established the age range using the Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. The JBI methodology for scoping reviews was adopted and aligned with PRISMA-ScR standards to ensure transparency and reproducibility. Progressive drafting, internal peer review, and iterative refinement led to the final protocol, which was registered on the Open Science Framework (DOI:
10.17605/OSF.IO/HRVX9).

The resulting protocol provides a replicable methodological framework for mapping instruments that assess the parent–infant relationship. This Brief Report presents a framework for collaborative protocol development in international research networks, promoting shared knowledge generation in early relational health research and offering potential applicability to other COST initiatives.

This article explains how an international team of researchers worked together to create a structured plan (protocol) for a scoping review, a type of research review that maps existing evidence. The aim of this review is to identify and describe the tools used to assess the relationship between parents and their babies during the first two years of life, a crucial period for emotional bonding, development, and long-term health. Experts from different countries within the COST network collaborated step by step to define key concepts, agree on suitable methods, and design a clear and transparent protocol. This protocol will guide a future scoping review that will identify and map all instruments used to evaluate the parent–infant relationship. The findings will help healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers better understand the range and characteristics of available instruments, supporting informed decisions about their use in promoting early relational health.