General practitioners’ experiences with children and adolescents with functional gastro-intestinal disorders: a qualitative study in Norway

Figures & data

Table 1. Interview guide used with the GPs.

How often do you see children or adolescents with long-term or chronic abdominal pain? What do you do when a child or adolescent presents with chronic abdominal pain? Do you have any thoughts about contributing factors or conditions that may provoke or increase abdominal pain? Do you have any impressions about how the pain affects the child’s family? Do you refer any of these patients to a hospital or a specialist? If yes, whom? If a child or adolescent has been seen by a specialist and returns to you without a physical diagnosis, what do you do? As a GP you have a busy day with 15–20-min consultations; how is it possible to follow up with these patients? What is your impression about what these patients and their families need? Do you usually contact the patient’s school about measures that could make the school day easier for the patient? Do you know how these patients are doing over time? Do you (as a GP) have any advice about following up with children and adolescents who have functional abdominal pain? What do you think may help them? How do you experience the consultations with these patients and their parents? Is there anything I should have asked you that has not been asked in the interview? How was it being interviewed about these patients?

Table 2. Characteristics of the interviewed GPs (n).

Age	Male	Female	Specialist	Urban practice	Rural practice
30–40	1	1	0	0	2
40–50	0	2	2	1	1
50–60	1	4	5	2	3
60–70	2	1	3	2	1

Figure 1. Examples of codes, condensed meaning units, sub-themes, and themes.