| 3) Eligibility for testing |
Anyone displaying one of the three NHS listed symptoms are eligible for a COVID-19 test. |
“Anybody who’s displaying one of those three typical symptoms.” (P11) |
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Other eligibility situations, including specific groups of people, in mandatory situations and to check they did not have COVID-19. |
“I think mainly elderly and people with chronic diseases.” (P01) |
| “It’s healthcare workers, it’s people that work at school, it’s people in care homes.” (P09) |
| 4) Concerns about testing |
No concerns about testing; trusting the Government is necessary. |
“No, I don’t think so. I did see on the—when you put all your details in—there is a data privacy statement: how they handle your data. People, if they want to, can read—I didn’t—but people, if they wanted to, could. I suppose there is an element of trust with the government, so it didn’t give me cause for concern: I saw that they followed all the guidelines and there was additional information, should you want to read it.” (P11) |
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Concerns relating to the accuracy of the results. |
“The only concern is that if you’re doing it yourself as to how accurate it is if you don’t do it properly.” (P18) |
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Concerns about testing logistics. |
“I would probably prefer to do a home test because, like I say, I think for me it would be a risk if I was to visit a test centre because there would be other people there who potentially have other symptoms and I could be exposed to them if I don’t have Covid, and then… Yes, I’m just putting myself in a vulnerable position, I think if I go to a test centre.” (P10) |
| 5) Information needed about testing |
Parents could find any information they needed by searching the internet. |
“No, I think again it goes back to one of the other things that was said there. Me personally, I’m quite comfortable about the testing, so no. If I don’t know something I’ll go and look it up on the government website, that is fairly comprehensive, or NHS UK or gov UK or wherever it happens to be. So I’m confident at the moment if there was any gaps and I absolutely had the burning desire to know something, I’m fairly sure that with a bit of digging I could probably find it out.” (P09) |
| 6) Difficulties whilst waiting for test results |
Waiting for test results appeared to be a stressful experience, worries over health and uncertainties surrounding the waiting period. |
“Again, how it affected them [children]—it depends. If it affected me and I ended up in hospital, they would have anxiety over it. You worry, don’t you? It’s possibly death… The first time I had it done I was really anxious. I was really worried. You can’t get it off your mind. I kept thinking, God, have I got it? I thought what’s going to happen now?” (P01) |
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Parents opposed whether to inform their children if they take a COVID-19 test. |
“I suppose you wouldn’t want them to worry, so maybe I wouldn’t. You wouldn’t tell immediate—I don’t know, actually. Maybe I wouldn’t tell immediate family because you wouldn’t want to put that worry on them in the sense that this could develop into something serious…There’s all this worry that you wouldn’t want to put on both of your children in the sense that it’s your children, they’ll have seen other parents that might have sadly passed away, and now starting to think, oh hang on, that could happen to my parents.’ It’s just a lot of worry and concern, that I probably wouldn’t put on.” (P06) |
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Reduce their anxieties by focusing on the altruistic nature of testing as a way to protect others. |
“Then, obviously, there’s anybody that my children have been in contact with who are vulnerable, who have low immunity, whatever, asthma perhaps, I’d be concerned for them… I would inform everybody I’d been in contact with and I’d be informing the schools as well from a children point of view and speak to my husband. It’s informing people and workwise, I’m working from home, so that doesn’t make a difference.” (P10) |
