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Background <p>Medical consultations can be anxiety-provoking for young children, potentially affecting communication, examination, and adherence to care. While research has largely focused on procedural pain and fear of specific interventions, little is known about how preschool children conceptualize the medical consultation itself. Understanding children’s social representations and experiential knowledge may help clinicians adapt communication and improve care experiences. This study explored the social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultations in children aged 5–6 years.</p> Methods <p>An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in France with forty-nine children aged 5–6 years, recruited from seven nursery schools. Data were collected through 39 semi-structured interviews, conducted individually or in small groups, during school-based activities inspired by the “Teddy Bear Clinic” model, in which children assumed the role of a parent caring for an ill cuddly toy. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis within an interpretivist framework.</p> Results <p>Four interrelated themes described children’s representations of medical consultations: (1) Attitudes and behaviour during medical consultations; (2) Representations of illness; (3) Understanding of medical examination and medical knowledge; (4) Representations of care and treatment. Illness was typically defined through single concrete symptoms and attributed to visible or imagined causes (falls, cold exposure, animals). Doctors were seen as identifying illness using instruments (e.g., stethoscope, thermometer, X-ray), and treatments were expected to be tangible and localised (bandages, injections, medication), sometimes with symbolic healing power. Children demonstrated coherent causal reasoning and actively engaged in caregiving behaviours toward their toys.</p> Conclusion <p>Children aged 5–6 already hold structured, experience-based models of illness, examination, and treatment. These representations shape expectations of care and may influence anxiety and cooperation during consultations. Recognising and integrating children’s perspectives—particularly their focus on concrete signs, diagnostic tools, and tangible treatments—may support more effective communication and child-centred consultations.</p>

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“What happens at the doctor’s?”: a qualitative study exploring social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultation in 5–6 year-olds

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月29日

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  • Hugues Faucheu,
  • Alyssa Gaillet-Lagrange,
  • Philippe Jaury,
  • Louis-Baptiste Jaunay

摘要

Background

Medical consultations can be anxiety-provoking for young children, potentially affecting communication, examination, and adherence to care. While research has largely focused on procedural pain and fear of specific interventions, little is known about how preschool children conceptualize the medical consultation itself. Understanding children’s social representations and experiential knowledge may help clinicians adapt communication and improve care experiences. This study explored the social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultations in children aged 5–6 years.

Methods

An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in France with forty-nine children aged 5–6 years, recruited from seven nursery schools. Data were collected through 39 semi-structured interviews, conducted individually or in small groups, during school-based activities inspired by the “Teddy Bear Clinic” model, in which children assumed the role of a parent caring for an ill cuddly toy. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis within an interpretivist framework.

Results

Four interrelated themes described children’s representations of medical consultations: (1) Attitudes and behaviour during medical consultations; (2) Representations of illness; (3) Understanding of medical examination and medical knowledge; (4) Representations of care and treatment. Illness was typically defined through single concrete symptoms and attributed to visible or imagined causes (falls, cold exposure, animals). Doctors were seen as identifying illness using instruments (e.g., stethoscope, thermometer, X-ray), and treatments were expected to be tangible and localised (bandages, injections, medication), sometimes with symbolic healing power. Children demonstrated coherent causal reasoning and actively engaged in caregiving behaviours toward their toys.

Conclusion

Children aged 5–6 already hold structured, experience-based models of illness, examination, and treatment. These representations shape expectations of care and may influence anxiety and cooperation during consultations. Recognising and integrating children’s perspectives—particularly their focus on concrete signs, diagnostic tools, and tangible treatments—may support more effective communication and child-centred consultations.