Australian Parents' Reasons for Attending a GP when their Child has Upper Respiratory Tract Symptoms: An Exploratory Pilot Study

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Hannah Stoddart ◽  
Emily Hansen ◽  
Mark Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Parent Consultation ◽  
Parental Concerns ◽  
Australian General Practice ◽  
Upper Respiratory ◽  
Tract Infections

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children are a frequent presentation in Australian general practice. However, there is limited Australian evidence about why parents decide to consult a doctor for childhood URTIs. Our objective was to design a qualitative pilot study aiming to explore this issue using semi-structured interviews. Interviews were conducted with nine parents. We found that cough, fever and abnormal behaviour of the child prompted a consultation with the general practitioner (GP). Parents sought an examination of their child (in particular "hidden areas" such as ears and throat) and reassurance, rather than antibiotics. They also wanted the GP to suggest practical ways to help alleviate their child's symptoms. The results provide a greater understanding of the fears, concerns and beliefs of parents of children with URTIs and hence may improve the GP - parent consultation. Health providers may be encouraged to address the specific parental concerns emerging from this study.

scholarly journals The Construction of Patient Understandings of Antibiotic use for Upper Respiratorytract Infections in Rural China.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Cheng ◽  
Paul I. Kadetz ◽  
Jing Chai ◽  
Xingrong Shen ◽  
Christie Cabral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Respiratory Tract ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Upper Respiratory Tract ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Upper Respiratory ◽  
Tract Infections

Abstract Background: This paper seeks to identify the lay understandings concerning “anti-inflammatories”, their relation to antibiotics, and their utilization in treating upper respiratory tract infections (RTIs) among patients in rural Anhui Province, China. Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with 30 patients from rural clinics who presented with RTI symptoms between December 2017 and May 2018. These patient-informants were purposively sampled for follow-up interviews from an original sample of 1,030 patients who completed preliminary structured interviews. All informants were over 18 years old and had consulted a doctor at village- or township-level government health facilities for symptoms of RTIs within two weeks preceding follow-up interviews. Data was collected until saturation was achieved. Responses were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic framework via NVivo 12.0 software. Results: A majority of informants reported that antibiotics such as cephalosporin, known colloquially as “anti-inflammation medicine”, are the preferred treatment for upper respiratory tract symptoms. These are commonly prescribed by township and village doctors, who are an important source of antibiotic-related information for patients. Approximately 87% (n=26) of patient informants reported that doctors neither revealed the name nor classification of their diagnosis. Only 13% (n=4) were specifically told they had an upper respiratory tract infection. However, all patients in this sample were treated with antibiotics regardless of diagnosis or pathogenic etiology. Conclusion: The findings of the present study may provide important insights for designing future interventions to promote public health awareness concerning unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics in China.

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