Parent's information seeking in acute childhood illness

What helps and what hinders decision making

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19508924
AutoresSarah Neill (0000-0001-9699-078X, University of Northampton), Sarah J Neill (School of Health University of Northampton, Park Campus Northampton UK), Caroline Jones (0000-0001-6277-8262, University of Oxford), Caroline H D Jones (Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Oxford UK), Monica Lakhanpaul (0000-0002-9855-2043, General and Adolescent Paediatrics Unit UCL Institute of Child Health London UK), Damian Roland (0000-0001-9334-5144, University of Leicester), Damian T Roland (Paediatric Emergency Medicine Leicester Academic Group Cardiovascular Sciences University of Leicester Leicester UK), Matthew Thompson (0000-0002-5691-4851, University of Oxford), Matthew J Thompson (Department of Primary Care Health Sciences University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Oxford UK), the ASK SNIFF research team
Año2015
Volumen18
Número6
Páginas3044-3056
Fecha de publicación2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHealth Expectations (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1369-6513 • E-ISSN: 1369-7625
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/hex.12289
PMID25327454
OpenAlexW2113218801
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas20

CONTEXT: Acute illness is a universal experience in early childhood. Parents find it difficult to determine whether or not their child requires medical care and seek information to inform their decision making. Little is known about parents' information seeking behaviour and what helps or hinders their decision making. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore parents' use of information resources during decision making in acute childhood illness at home. DESIGN/METHOD: This exploratory qualitative study used focus groups and interviews to collect data from parents of children under 5 years of age. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-seven parents were recruited in the East Midlands, UK, in South Asian and Gypsy/Travelling communities, a Children's Centre and a private sector day nursery. FINDINGS: Parents' pre-consultation information seeking was dominated by the internet, albeit with limited success. Parents liked easy to access, professionally validated and simple messages with access to more detailed information. Some parents always sought information through personal contact, whilst others did so when independent information seeking failed. When consulting a healthcare professional, parents liked to be given information to refer to later, although the information received varied. Importantly, neither hard copy nor the internet was accessible for parents with low levels of literacy. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although there is a wealth of information parents can access independently, our findings indicate a need for easy access to clearly signposted, professionally validated resources and available in a range of formats provided through different delivery systems. One size does not fit all

Exploratory research · Focus group · Information needs · Information seeking · Qualitative research · The Internet · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Health Sciences Research and Education · Information Retrieval and Search Behavior · Medicine · Psychology