“What happens at the doctor’s?”: a qualitative study exploring social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultation in 5–6 year-olds
5 affiliations
- 1Département de Médecine Générale, Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris Cité, 24, rue du Faubourg Saint- Jacques, Paris, 75014 France
- 2Département de Médecine Générale, Faculté de Médecine, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
- 3Académie de Médecine, Paris, France
- 4Assistance Publique, Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- 5UPPERS - Unité de service pour la pédagogie et la recherche en santé - US 007, Université Paris Cité, UPPERS, F-75006 Paris, France, Paris, France
Abstract
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.
Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x.
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BibTeX
@article{faucheu2026what,
title = {{“What happens at the doctor’s?”: a qualitative study exploring social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultation in 5–6 year-olds}},
author = {Hugues Faucheu and Alyssa Gaillet-Lagrange and Philippe Jaury and Louis-Baptiste Jaunay},
journal = {BMC Pediatrics},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - “What happens at the doctor’s?”: a qualitative study exploring social representations and experiential knowledge of medical consultation in 5–6 year-olds
AU - Hugues Faucheu
AU - Alyssa Gaillet-Lagrange
AU - Philippe Jaury
AU - Louis-Baptiste Jaunay
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/29
JO - BMC Pediatrics
DO - 10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x
AB - 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. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-026-07336-x.
SN - 1471-2431
ER -