Why do Parents Choose to Attend the Emergency Department? A Cross-Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess the parents’ reasons for choosing to attend the pediatric emergency department. Moreover, the levels of awareness of parents about the patient complaints to an emergency service as well as their level of socio-cultural level were investigated.
METHODS: Patients aged 0–18 years who admitted to the pediatric emergency department during working hours in 2020 were enrolled in the study. The mothers were asked about the 10-question questionnaire form. The results were statistically evaluated.
RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety patients were enrolled in the study. Most common symptoms on admissions were upper respiratory tract infection symptoms (%74) such as fever and runny nose/nasal congestion. Parents were asked about their reasons go to the pediatric emergency department; the reasons given by parents include that they think the situation is urgent (61%).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: We found that the main reasons the emergency departments are so busy is that families are particularly concerned about fever and want to get treatment quickly. Furthermore, we believe that increasing awareness on this subject among patients with low socio-cultural level will considerably reduce the rate of emergency admissions.