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Promoting parent-provider interaction during young children's health-supervision visits
J W Finney1, C J Brophy, P C Friman
1Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, State University, Blacksburg 24061-0436.
Insights
Prompting parents to ask questions during child health visits significantly increased parent-provider interactions and discussions of health topics. This simple intervention improved communication in pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Health Services Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Pediatric health-supervision visits are crucial for child development and family well-being.
- Parental engagement with healthcare providers can be limited by various factors.
- Optimizing communication during these visits is essential for effective healthcare delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if prompting parents increases their interaction with healthcare providers during child health visits.
- To assess the impact of prompted communication on the range of topics discussed.
- To evaluate parental satisfaction with healthcare services following the intervention.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 32 infants and young children and their parents.
- Random assignment of parents into a prompted group and a control group.
- Prompted parents were encouraged to voice concerns before appointments; control parents discussed unrelated topics.
Main Results:
- Prompted parents initiated significantly more interactions with healthcare providers.
- A greater number of health and behavioral topics were discussed in the prompted group.
- Both groups reported high satisfaction with healthcare services.
Conclusions:
- A simple prompt can enhance parent-provider communication during pediatric visits.
- Increased interaction may lead to broader discussions on child health and behavior.
- Further research is needed to establish the clinical significance of these enhanced interactions.
Abstract:
We prompted parents to increase their interactions with health-care providers during their children's health-supervision visits. Before scheduled appointments we asked parents of 32 infants and young children if they had specific child health questions or concerns. Sixteen parents randomly assigned to the prompted group were then prompted to initiate discussions of their concerns. Sixteen control parents discussed unrelated topics before their appoitments. Prompted parents initiated significantly more interactions with health-care providers and more health and behavioral topics were discussed during their appointments. Both parent groups reported satisfaction with health-care services. Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of outcomes associated with enhanced parent-provider interaction during children's health-supervision visits. These visits are ideal settings for behavioral research on improving health care for children and their families.