Background: Primary Healthcare Centers (PHC) are the first instance to seek care for patients who are not acutely ill. Children between 0-18 years account for 23 % of all doctor visits at PHC. These children rarely arrive by themselves; they are accompanied by parents or guardians. Thereby the health care professionals (HCP) need to relate to two individuals in the care situation. Parents are a resource for their child, and they should be given the opportunity to participate with the child in caring situations. The care relation influences the outcome of the encounter between parent, child and HCP. Aim: To describe HCP' reflections about the encounters with parents seeking care for their children at the PHC. Method: A qualitative content analysis with inductive approach was used. The analyzed material consists of HCP's reflections derived from a prior research project regarding children's involvement. Results: Encountering parents who seek care for their children at PHC means that HCP's in these care situations balance between different perspectives and expectations. This balance includes reflections that are described as: To have beliefs about parent's perceptions and expectations; To encounter parents and children as a unit and unique individuals and To guide parents. Conclusion: The prerequisite for district nurses to create a caring relationship with parents and children in a care situation involves understanding and encountering parents’ and children’s perspectives. A caring relationship benefits the care situation, the child's health and parent's trust in the HCP's.
Keywords Care relation, Health Care Professionals, Parents, Primary Healthcare Center, Qualitative content analysis, Reflections