Burden of XXXX on Canadian families.

@entity1 @entity697
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the burden of @entity697 ( @entity697 ) on Canadian families. DESIGN: Telephone survey using random-digit dialing. SETTING: All Canadian provinces between May and June 2008. @entity1 : Caregivers of 1 or more @entity1 aged 6 months to 5 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Caregivers' reports on the number of @entity697 episodes experienced by the @entity1 in the past 12 months, as well as disease characteristics, health services and medication use, time spent on medical consultations (including travel), and time taken off from work to care for the sick @entity1 . RESULTS: A total of 502 eligible caregivers were recruited, 161 (32%) of whom reported at least 1 @entity697 episode for their @entity1 and 42 (8%) of whom reported 3 or more episodes during the past 12 months. Most @entity1 (94%, 151 of 161) visited with health professionals during their most recent @entity697 episodes. The average time required for medical examination was 3.1 hours in an emergency department and 1.8 hours in an outpatient clinic. Overall, 93% of episodes resulted in antibiotics use. A substantial proportion of caregivers (38%) missed work during this time; the average time taken off work was 15.9 hours. CONCLUSION: In Canada, episodes of @entity697 are still associated with substantial use of health services and indirect costs to the caregivers.
