Dataset Information

Acute Gastroenteritis: A Qualitative Study of Parental Motivations, Expectations, and Experiences During Out-of-Hours Primary Care.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Acute gastroenteritis is a common infectious disease in children younger than 6 years of age. Although it is a self-limiting disease, it nevertheless has a high consultation rate in primary care, especially during out-of-hours primary care (OOH-PC). Reasons for this high consultation rate remain unclear.

Methods

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore parental motivations, expectations, and experiences of OOH-PC contacts for children with acute gastroenteritis. We conducted 14 semistructured interviews with parents who contacted OOH-PC in the Netherlands. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using elements of grounded theory and a constant-comparison approach.

Results

Unusual behavior of the sick child, absent micturition, and ongoing vomiting and/or diarrhea, with decreased or no fluid intake, motivated parents to contact OOH-PC. Parents initiated contact to prevent symptom deterioration and to be reassured by a general practitioner (GP), expecting them to perform a thorough physical examination, provide information, and make follow-up plans. Parents reported dissatisfaction if they felt unheard, misunderstood, or not taken seriously, and this increased their likelihood of seeking another consultation. General practitioners did not always meet parental expectations.

Conclusion

Multiple factors affect the decision for parents to contact OOH-PC for their child with gastroenteritis. There is a mismatch between parental expectations and actions of the GP. Awareness regarding parental feelings and understanding their expectations can guide GPs in the interaction with parents, which could improve satisfaction with primary health care and OOH-PC specifically.

SUBMITTER: Weghorst AAH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10519770 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Acute Gastroenteritis: A Qualitative Study of Parental Motivations, Expectations, and Experiences During Out-of-Hours Primary Care.

Weghorst Anouk A H AAH van den Brink Marian J MJ Bonvanie Irma J IJ Tuinstra Jolanda J Holtman Gea A GA Landeweer Elleke G M EGM Berger Marjolein Y MY

Annals of family medicine 20230901 5

<h4>Purpose</h4>Acute gastroenteritis is a common infectious disease in children younger than 6 years of age. Although it is a self-limiting disease, it nevertheless has a high consultation rate in primary care, especially during out-of-hours primary care (OOH-PC). Reasons for this high consultation rate remain unclear.<h4>Methods</h4>The aim of this qualitative study was to explore parental motivations, expectations, and experiences of OOH-PC contacts for children with acute gastroenteritis. We ...[more]

PMID: 37748903

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Project description:ObjectivesPrimary care records have traditionally served the needs and demands of clinicians rather than those of the patient. In England, general practices must promote and offer registered patients online access to their primary care record, and research has shown benefits to both patients and clinicians of doing so. Despite this, we know little about patients' needs and expectations regarding online access to their record. This study explored what patients and carers want from online access to their electronic primary care health record, their experiences of using it, how they would like to interact with their record and what support they may need.DesignFocus groups and semistructured interviews using purposive sampling to achieve a good sociodemographic spread. Interviews were digitally audiorecorded, transcribed and coded using an established thematic approach.SettingFocus groups and interviews were conducted in community settings in the UK.ParticipantsFifty-four individuals who were either eligible for the National Health Service Health Check, living with more than one long-term condition or caring for someone else.ResultsParticipants views regarding online access were categorised into four main themes: awareness, capabilities, consequences and inevitability. Participants felt online access should be better promoted, and suggested a number of additional functions, such as better integration with other parts of the healthcare system. It was felt that online access could improve quality of care (eg, through increased transparency) but also have potential negative consequences (eg, by replacing face to face contact). A move towards more online records access was considered inevitable, but participants noted a need for additional support and training in using the online record, especially to ensure that health inequalities are not exacerbated.ConclusionsDiscussions with patients and carers about their views of accessing online records have provided useful insights into future directions and potential improvements for this service.

Dataset Information

Acute Gastroenteritis: A Qualitative Study of Parental Motivations, Expectations, and Experiences During Out-of-Hours Primary Care.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Acute Gastroenteritis: A Qualitative Study of Parental Motivations, Expectations, and Experiences During Out-of-Hours Primary Care.

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