Nonurgent pediatric emergency department visits: Care-seeking behavior and parental knowledge of insurance.

OBJECTIVES The goals of this study were to describe the factors associated with utilization of emergency services for nonurgent illnesses by insured children in a pediatric emergency department (PED) and to assess parental knowledge of their insurance and its influence on care-seeking behaviors. METHODS We conducted a prospective, descriptive survey of parents of insured children evaluated for nonurgent illnesses in an urban PED. RESULTS A total of 251 surveys were completed.