Parental Concerns for Children With Cold-like Symptoms With Reduced Access to Evaluation in Primary Care Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: We aimed to explore the concerns of parents when their children had symptoms of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: Two Norwegian internet forums were searched for parents' experiences when their children had upper respiratory infection symptoms in 2020-2021. A total of 197 posts were included and analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Parents described COVID-19-related and general worries regarding their children with upper respiratory infection symptoms. The first theme, "It is not 'just a cold' during the pandemic," captures how infection control measures influenced parents' concerns. The second theme, "Concerns and consequences of fever and cold symptoms," describes general parental worries. Varying levels of worries regarding health care services, limitations of family life, and concerns for relatives were highlighted.

Discussion: Knowledge of parents' concerns about cold symptoms may help primary health care providers target individual patient counseling and provide background information when policymakers develop information material for infection prevention and treatment.