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Differences between parents' and paediatricians' perceptions of mild respiratory infections in childhood: contrast
Luis Ortiz-Gonzalez1, Jesús Delgado-Ojeda2, Mª Cinta Guisado-Rasco3
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain.
Insights
Pediatricians and parents have differing views on mild respiratory infections in children. Improving communication is key to managing these common childhood illnesses effectively and optimizing healthcare resources.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Mild respiratory infections are a frequent reason for pediatric consultations, impacting healthcare systems, school attendance, and family life.
- Despite their commonality, these illnesses cause significant concern for families, highlighting a potential disconnect in perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare parental and pediatrician perceptions of mild respiratory infections in children.
- To assess the impact of these infections on family work-life balance and healthcare utilization.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional online surveys conducted among 504 Spanish pediatricians and 1,447 parents of children aged 6 months to 12 years.
- Questionnaires covered attitudes towards consultations, care burden, work-life balance, and treatment/prevention of mild respiratory illnesses.
Main Results:
- Significant discrepancies exist: pediatricians perceive children having more colds annually and view illness as beneficial for immunity more than parents do.
- Pediatricians report a higher incidence of self-medication (48% vs. 4%) and perceive a greater workload from minor pathologies (60.9% vs. 18.9%) compared to parents.
- Parents are more likely to seek unscheduled consultations (27% vs. 34.5% reported by pediatricians).
Conclusions:
- Pediatricians and parents hold divergent views on the significance and management of mild respiratory infections in children.
- Enhanced communication strategies are necessary to align perceptions, optimize healthcare resource allocation, and improve the management of common pediatric respiratory conditions.
Introduction:
Mild respiratory infections are a common reason for consultation in paediatrics, both in the emergency department and in primary care clinics. These conditions, mostly viral and self-limiting, have a significant impact on the healthcare system, school and work absenteeism, and family routines. Despite being common and banal illnesses from a medical perspective, they involve a significant concern in families. The main objective of the contrast study was to compare the perceptions of parents and paediatricians regarding mild respiratory infections in childhood and their impact on family conciliation.
Materials And Methods:
Two online, cross-sectional surveys were conducted among Spanish paediatricians and parents with children aged 6 months to 12 years, involving 504 paediatricians and 1,447 families, with questions on attitudes towards visits to the paediatric consultation, care burden of minor pathologies, work, and family conciliation, and treatment and prevention of these illnesses.
Results:
Results showed significant differences in paediatricians' and parents' perceptions in many aspects. According to 34.5% of paediatricians and 27% of parents, families regularly go to the paediatrician without a scheduled visit. Only 4% of parents report having self-medicated their child, while paediatricians raise this percentage significantly to 48%. Regarding the question: "it is normal for a child to have an average of 4 colds a year," only 25.5% of the surveyed families "strongly agree" unlike to 70.2% of paediatricians. 72.8% of paediatricians "strongly agree" with: "in my opinion, it is good for children to get sick to improve their immune system" reduced to 45.9% of parents. Consultations for minor pathologies represent a "high workload" for 60.9% of paediatricians, while this opinion is agreed by only 18.9% of the parents.
Conclusion:
Mild respiratory infections in childhood are perceived differently by paediatricians and parents. While paediatricians perceive them as a common and manageable phenomenon, parents tend to show higher concern and demand for medical attention. This study underlines the need to improve communication between paediatricians and parents to align perceptions, optimise the use of the health system resources, and improve the efficiency in the management of these common paediatric illnesses.
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