Beyond clinical urgency: parental awareness, educational level, and non-urgent pediatric emergency department utilization.

Objective: Non-urgent visits to pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) constitute a persistent global problem that strains healthcare resources and may compromise care quality for critically ill patients. This study aimed to examine the socio-educational determinants of parental responsiveness to emergency-use informational messaging and to characterize the healthcare-seeking behaviors underlying low-acuity PED utilization at a tertiary-level center with an annual pediatric caseload of approximately 120,000 visits. Materials and Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, data were collected from parents via structured questionnaires administered during triage. Children triaged into the high-acuity Red or Orange Manchester Triage System (MTS) categories were excluded a Results: A total of 453 parents were included in the study. Participants were predominantly female (68.2%), with a median parental age of 36.0 years, and 64.2% of visits were classified into the lower-acuity (Green/Blue) group. Agreement between parental urgency perception and MTS triage category was minimal (Cohen's Conclusions: These findings suggest that PED overcrowding is driven not solely by parental knowledge deficits but also by systemic barriers in primary care accessibility and parents' low risk tolerance. Effective interventions should therefore extend beyond public health education to restructure after-hours primary care as a credible and accessible alternative to emergency services.