Determinants of parental decisions to attend pediatric emergency departments for non-urgent conditions: a cross-sectional study.

Non-urgent visits to Pediatric Emergency Departments (PED) contribute to overcrowding and delay urgent care. This study aimed to explore the extent and characteristics of the phenomenon of non-urgent visits in the PED, and to identify parents' and children's predisposing factors associated with visiting the PED for non-urgent conditions. In this cross-sectional study, 313 parents of children who arrived at the PED in a general hospital completed a questionnaire. The visits were categorized as urgent or non-urgent according to the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale. A high proportion (56%) of visits were non-urgent. Prior consultation with a family physician was identified as a significant protective factor. Non-urgent visits were more common among parents of younger children and parents with fewer children. Previous contact with a family doctor or pediatrician predicted a visit to the PED. Encouraging parents to consult a physician before visiting the PED and providing them with accessible information about primary health services can help reduce non-urgent visits. Incorporating information on identifying urgent and non-urgent situations into parent education immediately after birth or during meetings with a pregnancy and childbirth nurse are recommended.