title: How do general practitioners use 'safety netting' in acutely ill children?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  'Safety netting' advice allows general practitioners (GPs) to cope with diagnostic uncertainty in primary care. It informs patients on 'red flag' features and when and how to seek further help. There is, however, insufficient evidence to support useful choices regarding 'safety netting' procedures.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore how GPs apply 'safety netting' in acutely ill children in Flanders.
  
  
  METHODS
  We designed a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews with 37 GPs across Flanders. Two researchers performed qualitative analysis based on grounded theory components.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although unfamiliar with the term, GPs perform 'safety netting' in every acutely ill child, guided by their intuition without the use of specific guidelines. They communicate 'red flag' features, expected time course of illness and how and when to re-consult and try to tailor their advice to the context, patient and specific illness. Overall, GPs perceive 'safety netting' as an important element of the consultation, acknowledging personal and parental limitations, such as parents' interpretation of their advice. GPs do not feel a need for any form of support in the near future.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GPs apply 'safety netting' intuitively and tailor the content. Further research should focus on the impact of 'safety netting' on morbidity and how the advice is conveyed to parents.
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bertheloot
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Pieterjan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deraeve
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vermandere
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aertgeerts
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family Practice and Primary Health Care , Ghent University , Gent , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Marieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lemiengre
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family Practice and Primary Health Care , Ghent University , Gent , Belgium ;
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Sutter
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;|c Research Institute Caphri, Maastricht University , Maastricht , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Buntinx
authors.affiliation: a Department of General Practice , KU Leuven , Leuven , Belgium ;
authors.forename: Jan Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Verbakel
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D066296:Grounded Theory; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: acute illness; children; general practitioner; qualitative research; ‘Safety netting’