BACKGROUND: Fever in @entity1 is common and mostly caused by benign self-limiting @entity281 . Yet consultation rates in primary care are high, especially during GP out-of-hours care. Therefore, we aimed to explore experiences of parents when having visited GP out-of-hours services with their febrile @entity1 . METHODS: We performed a qualitative study using 20 semi-structured interviews among parents from different backgrounds presenting to GP out-of-hours care with a febrile @entity1 <12  years. Questions were directed at parental motivations, expectations and experiences when visiting the GP out-of-hours centre with a febrile @entity1 . Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using constant comparison technique. RESULTS: We identified four main categories emerging from the data; (1) cautiously seeking care, (2) discrepancy between rationality and emotion, (3) expecting reassurance from a professional and (4) a need for consistent, reliable information. Not one symptom, but a combination of @entity221 with other symptoms, made parents anxious and drove care seeking. Although parents carefully considered when to seek care, they experienced increased @entity148 with increases in their @entity1 's temperature. Because parents work during the day and @entity221 typically rises during the early evening, the decision to seek care was often made during out-of-hours care. When parents consulted a GP they did not have any set expectations other than seeking reassurance, however a proper physical examination diminished their @entity148 . Parents did not demand antibiotics, but trusted on the expertise of the GP to assess necessity. Parents requested consistent, reliable information on @entity221 and self-management strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Parents were inexperienced in self-management strategies and had a subsequent desire for reassurance; this played a pivotal role in out-of-hours help seeking for childhood @entity221 . These factors provide clues to optimise information exchange between GPs and parents, by providing written, tailored, consistent information on self-management strategies for current and future @entity221 episodes. GPs' had incorrect assumptions that parents expected antibiotic treatment.

Childhood XXXX : a qualitative study on parents' expectations and experiences during general practice out-of-hours care consultations.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['children', 'child'] @entity281 :: ('MESH:D007239', 'Disease') :: ['infections'] @entity148 :: ('MESH:D001008', 'Disease') :: ['anxiety'] @entity221 :: ('MESH:D005334', 'Disease') :: ['fever']
@entity221 :: (MESH:D005334,Disease) :: ['fever']
