van Uum, RT;
Venekamp, RP;
Schilder, AGM;
Damoiseaux, RAMJ;
Anthierens, S;
(2019)
Pain management in acute otitis media: a qualitative study of parents' views and expectations.
BMC Family Practice
, 20
(1)
, Article 18. 10.1186/s12875-019-0908-9.
Preview |
Text
VanUUm_VoR.pdf - Published Version Download (612kB) | Preview |
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For unclarified reasons, parents tend to be cautious about administering analgesics to their children, potentially leading to suboptimal management of AOM symptoms. We aim to understand parents' views and expectations of pain management in acute otitis media (AOM) in children. METHODS: Qualitative study alongside a cluster-randomised controlled trial (PIM-POM study) aimed at optimising pain management in childhood AOM. We purposefully sampled 14 parents of children diagnosed with AOM by their GP, who were recruited to the trial between November 2017 and May 2018. Semi-structured interviews were held at home in the first two weeks after trial enrollment. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Parents experienced difficulties in recognising earache and other symptoms of an ear infection. They consulted the GP for a diagnosis, for reassurance and for management advice. Parents shared that, prior to consultation, they had insufficient knowledge of the benefits of correctly dosed pain medication at regularly scheduled intervals. Parents valued the GP's advice on pain management, and were happy to accept pain medication as standalone therapy, provided that the GP explained why antibiotics would not be needed. Parents' views and expectations of pain management in AOM were shaped by previous experiences of AOM within their family; those with a positive experience of pain medication are more likely to use it in subsequent AOM episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Parents of children with AOM consult the GP to help cope with uncertainties in recognising symptoms of AOM, and to receive management advice. It is important that GPs are aware of parents' lack of understanding of the role of pain medication in managing AOM, and that they address this during the consultation. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register, identifier NTR4920 (registration date: 19 December 2014).
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Pain management in acute otitis media: a qualitative study of parents' views and expectations |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12875-019-0908-9 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-019-0908-9 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. |
| Keywords: | Acute otitis media, Children, Pain management, Parents, Primary care, Qualitative study |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > The Ear Institute |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10067003 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
