Care Experiences and Support Needs of Families of Children with Tic Disorders during Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment: A Qualitative Study

Abstract Background Tic disorders (TD) are a common childhood-onset neuropsychiatric condition that typically requires long-term, comprehensive management. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasingly used to treat TD, and because TCM management is long-term and depends heavily on family participation, families play a central role in daily care. However, little is known about the caregiving experiences and support needs of families managing TD through TCM treatment. Methods This descriptive qualitative study used purposive sampling to recruit 14 primary caregivers of children with TD from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shenzhen Children's Hospital between April and July 2026. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis framework, with the assistance of NVivo 12 software for data management and coding. This study followed the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) and the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines. Results Three themes and ten subthemes were identified: (1) cognitive dilemmas and decision-making pathways in family caregiving (delayed disease recognition and multi-source information trust dilemmas; treatment choices dominated by the perception of TCM as “safe and root-treating”; mother-dominated family decision-making); (2) multidimensional dilemmas in TCM treatment experience and home care (differentiation in treatment adherence across modalities and individual variation; multidimensional difficulties in executing home care; imbalance in family support systems and maternal caregiving burden); and (3) evolution of psychological trajectories and support service needs (nonlinear evolution of parents' psychological trajectories; structural pressure from financial burden and healthcare accessibility; expectations for healthcare support and service model reconstruction; and persistent distress from fear of relapse and future uncertainty). Conclusions Families of children with TD face multiple cognitive, behavioral, psychological, and systemic challenges during TCM treatment. There is an urgent need to build a TCM-based family care support system centered on “specialized nursing clinics + professional parent groups + systematic health education + psychological support services + community-based early screening,” with priority given to the initial diagnosis period and periods of symptom recurrence, together with mechanisms for transitioning to adult healthcare to address the gap in care access that arises once patients age out of pediatric services.