Parents' beliefs and expectations when presenting with a febrile child at an out-of-hours general practice clinic.

On the basis of structured interviews with 146 parents, this study describes why and when parents of acutely ill children seek the out-of-hours service, what actions they might have taken beforehand, and their expectations as to the outcome of the consultation. A total of 46% of the parents did not consider their child's condition to be serious, but 12% throught that their child was very ill. Parents sought medical advice because of what they perceived to be a lack of control of the condition (49%), fear of a serious disease (17%), and for symptom relief (34%). All except three parents expected there to be an examination of their child, and 79% expected an explanation or a diagnosis. Only 13% spontaneously mentioned that they expected a prescription. It is clinical and communicative skills that prevail in promoting successful consultations in this setting.