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[The pediatrician's waiting room: a place for health education?]
R Assathiany1, J Kemeny, M Sznajder
1Arepege, association pour la recherche et l'enseignement en pédiatrie générale, 18, rue Sainte-Sophie, 78000 Versailles, France. assathiany@wanadoo.fr
Insights
Pediatrician waiting rooms widely display health education messages, with parents recalling topics like child neglect and nutrition best. While 14% discussed messages with doctors, further study is needed to understand their full impact.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Health Communication
- Public Health Education
Context:
- Pediatrician waiting rooms are common venues for health information dissemination.
- Understanding the reach and effectiveness of in-office health education is crucial for pediatric care.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the prevalence and impact of health education messages within pediatricians' waiting rooms.
- To assess parental recall and engagement with waiting room health information.
Summary:
- A study of 1830 parents in 81 pediatrician offices found 91% had health education messages, commonly on accidents, vaccines, hygiene, and nutrition.
- Parents best recalled messages on child neglect, antibiotic therapy, STDs, and nutrition. Recall was not affected by wait time but was higher in parents who had visited before.
- 14% of parents spontaneously discussed waiting room messages with their pediatrician, indicating some level of engagement.
Impact:
- Health education messages are prevalent in pediatric waiting rooms, reflecting a pediatrician commitment to broader health education.
- Parental recall of health messages varies, with specific topics demonstrating higher retention.
- While direct impact on discussion is observed, further research is recommended to fully ascertain the influence of these messages on health behaviors.
Objectives:
To assess the presence and impact of health education messages in pediatricians' waiting rooms.
Methods:
In September 2001, 81 pediatricians completed a questionnaire about the furnishings and equipment in their waiting rooms. They also distributed a questionnaire about waiting room health education messages to parents, to be completed at home.
Results:
The analysis considered 1830 questionnaires. Health education messages were posted in 91% of the waiting rooms and most frequently concerned children's accidents, vaccines, hygiene and nutrition. The best topics that the parents remembered involved child neglect, antibiotic therapy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and nutrition. Although memorization of the messages was not influenced by duration of the wait, it was higher among parents who had previously visited the pediatrician. These messages led 14% of the parents to discuss them spontaneously with their pediatrician.
Conclusion:
Health education messages are posted in nearly all the waiting rooms studied; parents remember them in a variable and rather inexplicable order. Posting these messages demonstrates the pediatricians' willingness to be involved - beyond the simple consultation - in the health education of children and families. Identifying the real impact of these messages would require further study.
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