ArticleBMC emergency medicine2026
Striving to make the right decision when seeking emergency care: patients' stories of navigating support alternatives in a digital society, a qualitative study.
Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundHealthcare systems struggle with an imbalance between the required resources and existing demand. The number of patients seeking emergency care has increased steadily, placing additional strain on emergency departments, which are also challenged by a high volume of non-urgent visits. When patients perceive a need to seek emergency care, the decision is influenced by various factors, including the availability and quality of support and the information they use to make informed decisions. Digital health support encompasses a range of technologies designed to assist at various stages of the healthcare continuum. They are intended to support patients and personnel, as well as effective resource utilization in healthcare. More knowledge is needed to understand the factors involved when patients decide to seek emergency care, and how digital health support can be introduced to benefit both patients and personnel. This study aims to identify and understand important factors that influence patients’ decisions when seeking emergency care, focusing on the information they gather and various sources of support, especially digital health support.
methodsThis qualitative interview study included 31 participants seeking care at an emergency department in western Sweden. The data were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.
resultsThe analysis resulted in four themes: (1) human support needed; (2) going back and forth about making the right decision; (3) digital reassurance; and (4) digital support with hesitation. The participants based their decisions on various forms of information and support. Patients who used digital health support reported mixed experiences, describing both opportunities and barriers. Some patients mentioned expectations for future digital solutions, mainly expressing a desire to preserve human contact.
conclusionPatients strive to make the right decision about whether, when, and where to seek care in perceived urgent situations. In this decision-making process, patients use human and digital support for guidance and to facilitate their decision. However, navigating the healthcare system is challenging for patients, and digital health support provides both enabling opportunities and several obstacles. The results of this study indicate that further development of digital health support for patients seeking emergency care would benefit if end users were included in the co-creating process.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.