Parent Preferences for Communicating With Their Adolescent's Provider Using New Technologies

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Health Communication
• Digital Health

Background:

• Adolescents have limited healthcare utilization, necessitating effective communication strategies between parents and providers.
• Understanding parental preferences for communication is crucial for improving adolescent healthcare engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess parental views on various communication methods for adolescent healthcare.
• To explore preferences for vaccine reminders, appointments, medication refills, and test results via phone, mail, email, text messages, and personal health records (PHRs).

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey of 400 parents of adolescents in urban and suburban pediatric offices.
• Data collected prior to the implementation of vaccine reminder systems.

Main Results:

• Approximately half of parents accepted teens receiving their own vaccine reminders.
• Urban parents preferred phone communication, while suburban parents favored email and PHRs for specific information.
• Younger parents and suburban parents showed higher preference for text messages, email, and PHRs.

Conclusions:

• Parental readiness for electronic health communication for adolescents varies, with age and socioeconomic factors playing a role.
• A divide exists in preferences based on parent demographics.
• Offering diverse communication channels is essential for optimal parent-provider interaction in adolescent care.