When should I worry?

'When Should I Worry?' is a booklet developed by researchers at PRIME Centre Wales, Division of Population Medicine, Cardiff University.

It provides information for parents about the management of respiratory tract infections (coughs, colds, sore throats, and ear aches) in children, and has been designed to be used in primary care consultations.

Its use was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial, where it was shown that use of the booklet could result in a two-thirds reduction in antibiotic prescribing without impacting on parental satisfaction. Click here to see the BMJ paper describing the trial results.

Printed copies

Following the closure of the Royal College of GPs bookshop, unfortunately we have been unable to source are an alternative distributor for the booklet.

We are very keen that the booklet remains available - if you are able to arrange printing directly from your practice or locally via your CCG/primary care group, please contact us for printer version of the files for you to share with the printer.

If you have any suggestions for alternative distributers, please do get in touch.

Download / view booklet (pdf)

You can also download a free PDF of the booklet, which can be used for non-commercial uses:

International translated versions: 

Please note we cannot guarantee their accuracy of the translations, the original version was designed for use in the UK.

If you are planning on using the booklet in consultations, we recommend that you complete the free training in use of the booklet on this website first, and that you thoroughly familiarise yourself with the booklet contents.

If you have any questions about the booklet, please contact us.