Table 2.

Parent problem presentation

Problem Presentation type	Frequency (%)	Example
Symptoms only	23 (40%)	“she’s had a cold and a cough, er, for about a couple of weeks now. (…) the cough’s sort of getting worse. She’s still got a bit of a runny nose. Erm, and it’s sort of waking her up at night. And I just really want some guidance.” (P52: mother)
Viral candidate diagnosis	11 (20%)	“it looked like it was a viral infection” (P01: father)
Candidate explanations	7 (13%)	“I think sometimes he’s just coughing so much that he’s ending up being sick” (P03: mother)
Antibiotic implicative candidate diagnoses	7 (13%)	“she’s had a really bad chest infection” (P13: father)
Antibiotic implicative symptoms only	8 (14%)	“she’s now sounding really phlegmy, and right on the chest” (P56: mother)