Care-giving and care-seeking behaviours of parents who take their children to an emergency department for non-urgent care.

OBJECTIVE This study explored the care-giving and care-seeking behaviours of parents who took their children to the emergency department (ED) of a large urban hospital in Western Canada for non-urgent care. METHOD Data were collected from a convenience sample of 114 parents during a two-week period in January 1992, using a self-administered 53-item questionnaire. The data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics (Chi-square) and thematic content analysis. RESULTS Eighty-two percent of parents were unsure of or overestimated the seriousness of their child's illness or injury. Prior to attending the ED, 40% of parents administered comfort measures and 45% gave medications. Only 17% of parents used at-home reading materials, while 31% sought lay advice. Fifty-eight percent of parents did not try to contact their family physician or the ED by telephone before coming to the ED. Forty-eight percent of parents who phoned their family physician were unable to obtain advice, and those who did were almost always referred to the ED. Eighty-eight percent of those who phoned the ED were instructed to bring the child to the ED. INTERPRETATION The results suggest the need for more acceptable, accessible community primary care services.