PARENTS DIFFICULTIES AND INFORMATION NEEDS IN COPING WITH ACUTE ILLNESS IN PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN - A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Objectives-To identify and explore difficulties parents experience wit h acute illness in young children and the information they seek to hel p them. Design-Qualitative study using semistructured one to one and g roup interviews with parents of preschool children. Setting-Disadvanta ged inner city community, Subjects-95 parents of preschool children. R esults-Parents felt disempowered when dealing with acute illness in th eir children because of difficulties making sense of the illness. Cent ral to parents' difficulties were their experiences of inadequate info rmation sharing by their general practitioners and variations in their doctors) decisions and behaviour. Disparity between parents' beliefs and expectations about illness and treatment and professionals' behavi our further frustrated parents' attempts to understand illness. Parent s expressed a need for a range of accessible and specific information to support them through their negotiation of children's illness. Concl usions-Communication with parents requires greater recognition of pare nts) difficulties. Professionals have considerable potential to empowe r parents by sharing more information and skills. Such information sho uld be consistent and address parents' concerns, beliefs, and expresse d needs if this potential is to be realised.