Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Involving Individuals with Developmental Language Disorder and Their Parents/Carers in Research Priority Setting
Published on: June 6, 2020
Child involvement in the paediatric consultation: a qualitative study of children and carers' views
S Taylor1, S Haase-Casanovas, T Weaver
1Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Imperial College London - St Mary's Campus, Norfolk Place, London, UK. s.taylor7@nhs.net
Insights
Most families want children involved in paediatric consultations, but the level of involvement varies by child, family, and illness. Doctors must tailor communication and involvement to each unique family dynamic.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Patient engagement
- Qualitative research
Background:
- Investigating parental and child perspectives on child participation in pediatric consultations.
- Understanding attitudes towards involving children in healthcare decision-making.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore child and carer attitudes towards child involvement in pediatric consultations.
- To identify factors influencing the desired level and nature of child participation.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 20 families (21 children, 17 mothers, 5 fathers).
- Interviews conducted post-pediatric consultation in UK settings.
- Exploration of attitudes across different stages of the consultation process.
Main Results:
- Nearly all families supported child involvement, with preferences varying by child, family, and illness characteristics.
- Views differed on who should facilitate communication (parent vs. doctor) during history taking.
- Information disclosure at diagnosis and treatment planning varied with child maturity and illness severity.
Conclusions:
- Family views on child involvement in pediatric consultations are highly individualized.
- Different stages of the consultation process elicit varying preferences for child participation.
- Clinicians face the challenge of discerning and accommodating unique parent-child preferences for involvement and information exchange.
Background:
This study aimed to investigate child and carers' attitudes towards child involvement in paediatric consultations.
Methods:
Semi-structured qualitative interviews explored child and carers' attitudes towards child involvement at different stages of the paediatric consultation process. Twenty families (21 children, 17 mothers and 5 fathers) were interviewed following a paediatric (index) consultation in two UK paediatric inpatient and outpatient departments.
Results:
All but one family felt the child should be involved at some stage of the consultation process but the desired extent and nature of involvement depended on child, family and illness characteristics, as well as on the stages of the consultation. During history gathering, some parents and children felt it was the decision and responsibility of the parent to facilitate communication between the child and the doctor. Others expected the doctor to decide when and how to facilitate this process. At diagnosis the desired amount of information given to the child increased with increasing maturity in the child. Some felt making a diagnosis should be a collaborative process; others felt it was solely the domain of the doctor. In discussing and making a treatment plan, some children wanted to be given the choice of being involved and some wanted their parents to be responsible for implementing the plan. Some families with a seriously ill child, however, wanted the burden of involvement in the management plan taken away from them.
Conclusions:
Families vary in their views about involvement of children in paediatric consultations in a way that may be unique to each child, family and illness. Moreover, different views were expressed about involvement in each stage of the consultative process and in management of the child's health. The challenge for doctors is to determine the level of involvement and information exchange favoured by a particular parent and child. Good practice recommendations emerging from the analysis are described.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Patient-centered Care
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
01:23Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption
01:24Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism