Pediatric acute gastroenteritis: understanding caregivers' experiences and information needs

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Qualitative Health Research

Background:

• Pediatric acute gastroenteritis (AGE) presents significant challenges, including high healthcare use and varied treatment approaches.
• Understanding the caregiver experience is crucial for addressing these issues and improving care for children with AGE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe caregivers' experiences with pediatric AGE.
• To identify caregivers' information needs, preferences, and priorities related to pediatric AGE.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study involving 15 caregiver interviews.
• Thematic analysis of interview transcripts using a hybrid inductive/deductive approach.
• Recruitment in a tertiary hospital's pediatric emergency department (ED).

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: caregiver management, reasons for ED visits, ED treatment, information needs, and influencing factors.
• Detailed subthemes were identified within each major theme, offering nuanced insights.
• Caregiver strategies, ED decision-making, and information gaps were highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Caregiver information needs, preferences, and priorities for pediatric AGE were elucidated.
• Inconsistencies in AGE management at home and in the ED were identified.
• These inconsistencies impact healthcare utilization and patient outcomes for pediatric AGE.