ArticleInternational journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being2026
Managing uncertainty in antibiotic decisions: factors influencing antibiotic use among chinese parents of children in a multi-source information environment.
Article in International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being, 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
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAntibiotic misuse among children in China remains a significant concern. Parents typically make decisions about antibiotic use within a complex health information environment comprising multiple sources. This study aims to explore which information sources influence Chinese parents' use of antibiotics when faced with uncertainty about their children's health, and how these sources affect the management of such uncertainty.
methodsGuided by uncertainty management theory, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 participants and analyzed data via codebook thematic analysis.
resultsThree themes emerged: (1) Grandparents' Interference in Parents' Medication Decisions; (2) Limited Adherence to the Doctor's Advice; (3) Diverse Medication Information in New Media Environments.
conclusionsChinese parents manage uncertainty about antibiotic use by drawing on multiple information sources, including family experiences, professional advice, and online information. This mixed information environment may increase the risk of inappropriate antibiotic use. The influence of grandparents highlights the need for family-oriented health education, while parents' selective engagement with and adoption of doctors' recommendations indicate that pediatric healthcare providers should proactively improve communication and provide clearer guidance on medication use. Additionally, the growing use of digital health information calls for improved oversight and development of trustworthy online health resources.
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.