Common Cold clinical trials

Supporting Parents to Choose Wisely

The goal of this multi-method study including a randomized control trial and qualitative interviews is to see how useful blogshots (an image that summarizes information) are at helping parents increase their knowledge and manage their expectations for common acute childhood conditions (e.g. sore throat, ear infection) with respect to Choosing Wisely Canada recommendations. Participants will be randomly assigned to Group A or Group B in this study. Group A will receive three of six blogshots over a 4-week period (a different blogshot will be sent by email to them each week for three weeks, then in the final week they will receive the same three blogshots in one summary email to review). Group B will receive the other three of six blogshots, following the same email sequence and timing. All participants from both groups will be asked to complete one baseline questionnaire at the start of the study and a follow-up questionnaire at week 5, month 3 and month 6 about different common acute childhood conditions, the blogshots and their content. All participants also have the option to participate in an optional semi-structured interview to give their thoughts on the blogshots and their experience in the study. Researchers will compared each participant's baseline score to their follow up scores to see if there was a change in their knowledge and expectations. By developing and evaluating evidence-based Choosing Wisely Canada resources, the researchers aim to make it easier for parents to choose wisely. Empowering parents to be part of conversations with their child's healthcare provider can improve health decision-making and reduce health system costs.