Objective: To investigate parents’ experiences and views of clinician communication during primary care
consultations for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children under 12.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews with 30 parents who had recently consulted for RTI in their child.
Purposive sampling was used to interview parents from a range of socio-economic areas.
Results: Parents critically assess the credibility of primary care clinician diagnosis and treatment
recommendations based on their perception of the medical evaluation and how well their concerns and
expectations have been addressed. A ‘‘viral’’ diagnosis could be perceived as trivializing, particularly
when contradicting the parent’s perception of severity. Parents expected advice on symptomatic
treatment and felt frustrated by ‘no treatment’ recommendations. Parents commonly reported safety
netting advice which was too vague to be useful.
Conclusion: Parents’ perception of the credibility of the diagnosis and treatment recommendations is
influenced both by their expectations and the effectiveness of clinician communication. Opportunities
are being missed to inform parents about symptomatic care and when to consult for children with RTIs.
Practice implications: Clinicians should tailor diagnostic explanations to parental expectations and
concerns and address the symptoms of significance to parents. Clinicians should provide advice about
symptom relief and more precise safety netting advice.