Safety Netting Advice for Acutely Ill Children Presenting to Ambulatory Care: Exploring Parents’ Opinions, Ideas, and Expectations Through Focus Group Interviews

Abstract Background. Safety netting advice is an essential component of the management of acutely ill children, yet an international consensus definition is lacking. More research on parents’ ideas about safety netting advice is needed to develop a broadly supported definition. In this study we aimed to explore the perspectives of Belgian parents about safety netting advice for their acutely ill child(ren) presenting to ambulatory care. Methods . We conducted focus groups with Belgian parents of children 6 months to 12 years old who were recruited through maximum variation sampling. We transcribed the interviews verbatim. Using a combination of inductive and deductive ‘in vivo’ coding we distilled themes from the data. As per the Grounded Theory approach, we reiterated between data collection, coding, and analysis. After participant validation of provisional themes, we constructed the final thematic framework. Results. Through six focus groups with 30 parents, we identified five themes: (1) Relevant background information; (2) To know what to expect, what to look out for; (3) Instructions on child homecare and when to revisit a physician; (4) Physicians who consider parents’ perspectives and contexts; (5) A reliable source that provides safety netting advice only when necessary, possibly in a multimodal way. Conclusions. Our findings highlight the importance of clear and tailored background information and instructions from a reliable source on what to expect and what to look out for and what to do next when the child’s situation worsens. Our results can serve as an evidence base for further research into defining safety netting advice.