How parents perceive GP consultation for young child with cough - V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What are the experiences of parents bringing their preschool child with a cough to the General Practitioner, and what can clinicians learn about consultations and parental decision making from parental descriptions of these experiences?
IRAS ID
142323
Contact name
Heather Loveday
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of West London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Research summary
Title: “What are the experiences of parents bringing their preschool child with a cough to the General Practitioner, and what can clinicians learn about consultations and parental decision making from parental descriptions of these experiences?”
Parents’ bringing their coughing pre-school aged child to the General Practitioner is the most common reason for consultation in this age group. Practitioners have often been criticised for over prescribing medication (particularly antibiotics) to such children, and, despite guidelines around diagnosis of cough in children there remains doubt about the influence of parental expectation on diagnostic accuracy and appropriate treatment .Evidence indicates that cough in this age group is less likely to be a symptom of medical significance and, because of its transitory nature, may well remain unexplained. Clinicians recognise that parental anxiety may lead to over medicalization of children's cough and inappropriate use of medical services or treatment, but seem to find it difficult to help parents to understand the nature of cough in young children, and help them to avoid unnecessary use of emergency medical services. Narratives of a sample of parents registered with a General Practitioner surgery, who bring their child who has a cough, will be examined in order to identify common themes which, when recognised and explored, could increase parental and practitioner satisfaction with consultation outcomes. The research subjects will be identified by searching the appointments of system at the surgery. Parents will be contacted by telephone and asked to take part in a 30 minute semi structured interview with the researcher, in which they will be asked to describe the experience of taking their child to a General Practitioner. Interviews will be face to face, and views expressed will be anonymous. The study is part of an academic award, will last up to 6 months and is unfunded.REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1224
Date of REC Opinion
13 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion