A General Practitioner’s (GP) decision to refer a patient to the emergency department (ED) requires consideration of a multitude of factors, and significant variation in GP referral patterns to secondary care has been recorded. This study examines the contextual factors that influence GPs when referring a paediatric patient with potentially self-limiting clinical symptoms to the ED. Utilizing a discrete choice experiment, survey data was collected from GPs in Ireland (n = 142) to elicit factors influencing this decision across five attributes: time/day of visit, repeat presentation, parents’ capacity to cope, parent requesting a referral, and access to a paediatric outpatient clinic/day unit. Using mixed logit models, all attributes were statistically significant, with repeat presentation and parents lacking the capacity to cope with a sick child identified as the strongest contextual factors leading to the decision to refer to the ED. Files explained: 1. Survey Questions.docx details the survey. 2. Ngene DCE design.ngd: Ngene™ file used to set-up the DCE. 3. Survey Data File.xlsx is the source file detailing responses to the survey. 4. Stata Data File Formatted for DCE.dta is the file formatted for the DCE for analysis Note: Data collection for a second survey for a patient with intellectual disability and limited communication skills was carried out at the same time as this survey. Data from this second study (Q4.1 – Q4.7 & Q6.1 – Q6.7) are not included in these files.

A General Practitioner’s (GP) decision to refer a patient to the emergency department (ED) requires consideration of a multitude of factors, and significant variation in GP referral patterns to secondary care has been recorded. This study examines the contextual factors that influence GPs when referring a paediatric patient with potentially self-limiting clinical symptoms to the ED. Utilizing a discrete choice experiment, survey data was collected from GPs in Ireland (n = 142) to elicit factors influencing this decision across five attributes: time/day of visit, repeat presentation, parents’ capacity to cope, parent requesting a referral, and access to a paediatric outpatient clinic/day unit. Using mixed logit models, all attributes were statistically significant, with repeat presentation and parents lacking the capacity to cope with a sick child identified as the strongest contextual factors leading to the decision to refer to the ED. Files explained: 1. Survey Questions.docx details the survey. 2. Ngene DCE design.ngd: Ngene™ file used to set-up the DCE. 3. Survey Data File.xlsx is the source file detailing responses to the survey. 4. Stata Data File Formatted for DCE.dta is the file formatted for the DCE for analysis Note: Data collection for a second survey for a patient with intellectual disability and limited communication skills was carried out at the same time as this survey. Data from this second study (Q4.1 – Q4.7 & Q6.1 – Q6.7) are not included in these files.

Unscheduled healthcare is a key component of healthcare delivery and makes up a significant proportion of healthcare access with children being particularly high users of unscheduled healthcare. Understanding the relative importance of factors that influence this behaviour and decision making is fundamental to ensuring the system is best designed to meet the needs of users, and the appropriate cost-effective usage of health system resources. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was developed to identify the preferences of parents accessing unscheduled healthcare for their children. Data was collected from parents in Ireland (N = 458) to elicit preferences across five attributes: timeliness, appointment type, healthcare professional attended, telephone guidance prior to attending, and cost. Using mixed logit models, all attributes were statistically significant, with same-day or next-day access, coupled with care by their own GP, identified as the strongest preferences of parents accessing unscheduled healthcare for their children. The results have implications for policy development and implementation initiatives that seek to improve unscheduled health services as understanding how parents use these services can maximise their effectiveness. Files explained: 1. Parent_Decision_Making_DCE_Survey.docx details the survey. 2. Final Parent DCE design.ngd: Ngene™ file used to set-up the DCE. A Bayesian efficient design, based on minimising the Bayesian D-error criterion, was used to develop the choice sets and the alternatives using Ngene^TM software. In total, 24 choice sets were created, and a blocked design split the choice sets into two blocks of twelve to minimise the burden on respondents. 3. Data from Survey 23 Feb 2021.xlsx is the source file detailing responses to the survey. 4. Stata Data Formatted for DCE.dta is the file formatted for the DCE for analysis.

Unscheduled healthcare is a key component of healthcare delivery and makes up a significant proportion of healthcare access with children being particularly high users of unscheduled healthcare. Understanding the relative importance of factors that influence this behaviour and decision making is fundamental to ensuring the system is best designed to meet the needs of users, and the appropriate cost-effective usage of health system resources. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was developed to identify the preferences of parents accessing unscheduled healthcare for their children. Data was collected from parents in Ireland (N = 458) to elicit preferences across five attributes: timeliness, appointment type, healthcare professional attended, telephone guidance prior to attending, and cost. Using mixed logit models, all attributes were statistically significant, with same-day or next-day access, coupled with care by their own GP, identified as the strongest preferences of parents accessing unscheduled healthcare for their children. The results have implications for policy development and implementation initiatives that seek to improve unscheduled health services as understanding how parents use these services can maximise their effectiveness. Files explained: 1. Parent_Decision_Making_DCE_Survey.docx details the survey. 2. Final Parent DCE design.ngd: Ngene™ file used to set-up the DCE. A Bayesian efficient design, based on minimising the Bayesian D-error criterion, was used to develop the choice sets and the alternatives using Ngene^TM software. In total, 24 choice sets were created, and a blocked design split the choice sets into two blocks of twelve to minimise the burden on respondents. 3. Data from Survey 23 Feb 2021.xlsx is the source file detailing responses to the survey. 4. Stata Data Formatted for DCE.dta is the file formatted for the DCE for analysis.