Open Access

Background When parents want to make health-related decisions for their child, they need to be able to handle health information from a potentially endless range of sources. Early childhood allergy prevention (ECAP) is a good example: recommendations have shifted from allergen avoidance to early introduction of allergenic foods. We investigated how parents of children under 3 years old access, appraise and apply health information about ECAP, and their respective needs and preferences. Methods We conducted 23 focus groups and 24 interviews with 114 parents of children with varied risk for allergies. The recruitment strategy and a topic guide were co-designed with the target group and professionals from public health, education, and medicine. Data were mostly collected via video calls, recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Content analysis according to Kuckartz was performed using MAXQDA and findings are presented as a descriptive overview. Results Parents most frequently referred to family members, friends, and other parents as sources of ECAP information, as well as healthcare professionals (HCPs), particularly pediatricians. Parents said that they exchanged experiences and practices with their peers, while relying on HCPs for guidance on decision-making. When searching for information online, they infrequently recalled the sources used and were rarely aware of providers of “good” health information. While parents often reported trying to identify the authors of information to appraise its reliability, they said they did not undertake more comprehensive information quality checks. The choice and presentation of ECAP information was frequently criticized by all parent groups; in particular, parents of at-risk children or with a manifested allergy were often dissatisfied with HCP consultations, and hence did not straightforwardly apply advice. Though many trusted their HCPs, parents often reported taking preventive measures based on their own intuition. Conclusion One suggestion to react upon the many criticisms expressed by parents regarding who and how provides ECAP information is to integrate central ECAP recommendations into regular child care counseling by HCPs—provided that feasible ways for doing so are identified. This would assist disease prevention, as parents without specific concerns are often unaware of the ECAP dimension of issues such as nutrition.

Hintergrund In der COVID-19-Pandemie ging die Versorgung nichtübertragbarer Erkrankungen zeitweise deutlich zurück, auch weil Menschen Angst vor einer Ansteckung hatten. Wir führen eine Bestandsaufnahme zur organisationalen Gesundheitskompetenz in der Regelversorgung nichtübertragbarer Erkrankungen in der ersten Welle der COVID-19-Pandemie durch und fragen: Inwiefern wurden Menschen mit gesundheitlichen Beschwerden dabei unterstützt, gesundheitskompetente Entscheidungen für oder gegen die Inanspruchnahme von Versorgungsleistungen zu treffen? Methodik Strukturierende Inhaltsanalyse der Internetpräsenzen der Mitglieder der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlich Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF; n = 179), der kassen(zahn)ärztlichen Vereinigungen (K(Z)Ven; n = 38), ausgewählter Krankenkassen (n = 21), ausgewählter Behandlungseinrichtungen (n = 25) und überregionaler Anbieter von Gesundheitsinformationen (n = 5) zu Informationen und Angeboten zum Thema. Ergebnisse Die geprüften Internetpräsenzen informieren weitgehend rund um COVID-19, aber nur selten darüber, wie man sich bei einer (vermuteten) anderen Erkrankung in Bezug auf die Inanspruchnahme von Versorgungsleistungen verhält. 2 Portale von Anbietern von Gesundheitsinformationen, eine Krankenkasse, aber keine der KVen bieten explizite Entscheidungshilfen an. KVen weisen öfter, aber nicht durchgängig auf die generelle Möglichkeit von Videosprechstunden hin. Diskussion Für die meisten Patient*innen gab es damit keine gezielten Informationen zu dem Thema. Angesichts der Fortdauer der COVID-19-Pandemie gilt es, vorhandene vertrauenswürdige, qualitativ hochwertige Informations- und Beratungskapazitäten auszubauen und ihre Bekanntheit zu erhöhen, um gesundheitskompetente Entscheidungen auch in der Pandemie zu ermöglichen.