Related Experiment Videos
Everyday symptoms in childhood: occurrence and general practitioner consultation rates
M A Bruijnzeels1, M Foets, J C van der Wouden
1Department of General Practice, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Most childhood illnesses, like colds and respiratory symptoms, are managed at home. General practitioners (GPs) are consulted for specific issues like ear or skin problems, especially in younger children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- General Practice
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Most home-based illnesses do not require general practitioner (GP) attention.
- Understanding factors influencing GP consultation for childhood illnesses is limited.
- Health diaries offer a comprehensive method for tracking children's health and healthcare interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the incidence and consultation rates of childhood symptoms.
- To investigate the relationship between symptoms, age, sex, birth order, residence, and season.
- To analyze factors influencing general practitioner (GP) consultations for pediatric illnesses.
Main Methods:
- 1805 children's parents maintained health diaries for three weeks.
- Parents recorded symptoms and consultation behaviors.
- Symptoms were aggregated into distinct illness episodes.
Main Results:
- Colds/flu and respiratory symptoms were the most common childhood illnesses.
- Younger children (0-4 years) experienced higher overall illness rates.
- GP consultations varied significantly by symptom, with ear and skin issues most frequent; younger children were seen by GPs twice as often as older children.
Conclusions:
- Children experience a high volume of illnesses, with over 80% managed by parents without professional healthcare intervention.
- Parental management of pediatric illness is substantial.
- Targeted interventions may be needed for specific symptoms and age groups.
Background:
Fewer than 20% of all illnesses that occur in the home require the attention of a general practitioner (GP). Whether specific illnesses in children are more likely to need the attention of a GP is poorly understood, as is the influence of various other factors. Health diaries are the most suitable method of collecting comprehensive information about children's health problems at home and in general practice simultaneously.
Aim:
To investigate the occurrence of, and consultation rates for, specific symptoms in childhood in relation to age, sex, birth order, and place of residence of the child, and season of the year.
Method:
The parents of 1805 children kept a health diary over three weeks and recorded symptoms and consultation behaviour. The symptoms were later combined into illness episodes.
Results:
Over three weeks, colds/flu (157/1000 children) and respiratory symptoms (114/1000 children) occurred most frequently. More young children (0-4 years) suffered from illness generally. Eleven per cent of all illness episodes required the attention of a GP. Consultation rates differed greatly according to symptoms. A GP was consulted most often for ear (36%) and skin (28%) problems, and least often for headaches (2%) and tiredness (1%). Regardless of symptoms, young children (0-4 years) were taken to a GP twice as often as older children (10-14 years).
Conclusions:
This study emphasizes the enormous amount of illness that occurs in children and the fact that more than 80% of all illnesses are dealt with by parents without reference to the professional health care system.