Parents' Motivations for Calling an Out-of-Hours Helpline: Qualitative Study

Young children often get sick, and although they usually do not need treatment, it can be distressing for parents and lead to a high rate of urgent health care use. As the demand for out-of-hours services grows, understanding parents' concerns and needs when caring for an ill child is crucial for designing interventions that support informed health-seeking decisions.

This study aimed to investigate why parents contacted a Medical Helpline, their expectations regarding the call, and how their situation changed following telephone triage.

Parents who contacted an out-of-hours Medical Helpline in Denmark participated in semistructured interviews that were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's 6-step approach to thematic analysis.

A total of 39 interviews were conducted. Our analysis led to three key themes: (1) parental uncertainty in decision-making: caring for an ill child was associated with stress and uncertainty. Parents lacked the tools to differentiate between acceptable symptoms and signs of severe illness, resulting in catastrophic thinking; (2) validation: parents contacted the medical helpline to validate their assessment and share responsibility with a health care professional; they experienced a conflict between responsible health care usage and the need for reassurance; and (3) feeling safe at home: when the health care professional demonstrated competence, recognized parents' emotions, and dedicated time to explain the symptoms, parents felt empowered to manage their child at home through telephone consultation.

Uncertainty in assessing a sick child's symptoms can lead parents to seek reassurance and validation by contacting a medical helpline. Telephone consultations often enable parents to manage their children at home. Interventions that help parents distinguish between mild and severe symptoms, and accept frequent illnesses as a normal part of childhood, could reduce stress and reliance on health care services.