Physician communication with children and parents

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Medicine
• Communication Studies
• Healthcare Research

Background:

• Physician-patient communication impacts patient outcomes, including adherence and satisfaction.
• Effective communication is crucial in pediatric healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the content of medical interviews in routine pediatric visits.
• To identify factors influencing doctor-child communication extent.

Main Methods:

• 115 pediatric office visits (children aged 4-14) were videotaped and analyzed.
• Verbal transactions were coded for direction, type, and content.
• Coder reliability was established at 0.84.

Main Results:

• 45.5% of total communication occurred between doctor and child.
• Physicians obtained more problem information from children but provided feedback primarily to parents.
• Parents received 4.4 times more information than children about conditions.
• Child's age (r=.52) was the strongest predictor of substantive doctor-child talk; family size and utilization also played roles.
• Boys received more information than girls (6.5% vs 4.0%).

Conclusions:

• Communication patterns differ significantly between doctors and parents versus doctors and children.
• Child's age and gender are key factors influencing communication depth.
• A framework is proposed to view children as active participants in medical encounters.