@article {Hendry629, author = {S J Hendry and T F Beattie and D Heaney}, title = {Minor illness and injury: factors influencing attendance at a paediatric accident and emergency department}, volume = {90}, number = {6}, pages = {629--633}, year = {2005}, doi = {10.1136/adc.2004.049502}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}, abstract = {Aims: To gather information on children with minor illness or injury presenting to a paediatric accident and emergency (A\&E) department and the decision making process leading to their attendance. Methods: Prospective questionnaire based survey of 465 children selected by systematic sampling from A\&E attenders allocated to the lowest triage category. Results: The study population was statistically representative of the total population of A\&E attenders. The lower deprivation categories were over represented. Educational attainment, childcare experience, and parental coping skills were important in relation to A\&E attendance. More children attended with injury as opposed to illness. There were no significant demographic differences between those children who presented directly to A\&E and those who made prior contact with a GP. Just under half the study population had made contact with a general practitioner (GP) before attending A\&E. The majority of those children were directly referred to A\&E at that point. GPs referred equivalent numbers of children with illness and injury. Conclusions: Parents and GPs view paediatric A\&E departments as an appropriate place to seek treatment for children with minor illness or injury.}, issn = {0003-9888}, URL = {https://adc.bmj.com/content/90/6/629}, eprint = {https://adc.bmj.com/content/90/6/629.full.pdf}, journal = {Archives of Disease in Childhood} }