Assessing interaction between medical trainees and parents of pediatric patients

The interaction between the health care provider and the parent is recognized as vitally important in the delivery of high quality pediatric care. Attributes of the provider such as empathy, concern for the patient, understanding, and the amount of attention given to the parents' concerns have been found to relate to satisfaction with medical care. Instruments must be developed to assess these attributes in the interaction rather than measuring interviewing technique. The program and research staff of the Child Health Associate Program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center modified the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory to evaluate trainees' interaction with parents of patients. This instrument, generally used in psychological settings, has been shown to be a reliable and sensitive tool to measure the perception of patients of the following practitioner qualities in a continual therapeutic relationship: empathic understanding, congruence, and level of regard. In this paper, the authors describe the modification and use of the inventory in acute care medical settings.