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Childhood consultation rates in general practice--factors associated with the variations in attendance; a review
Insights
General Practitioners should understand factors influencing patient consultations. Mother
Area of Science:
- General Practice
- Pediatric Health
- Family Medicine
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing patient consultations is crucial for General Practitioners (GPs) serving families.
- Childhood consultation rates are influenced by various patient and caregiver characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key factors associated with frequent childhood consultations in a military family setting.
- To inform GPs about maternal and child-related influences on healthcare-seeking behavior.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of consultation patterns in a population of service families.
- Identification of child-related factors (prior illness, nursery attendance) and maternal factors (experience, employment, education, psychological state).
Main Results:
- Frequent attendees include children with prior illness or nursery school enrollment.
- Maternal factors such as prior childcare experience, employment history, lower formal education, and psychological state significantly influence consultation rates.
- Maternal psychological state, potentially affected by life events like frequent moves or spouse absence, correlates with childhood consultation rates.
Conclusions:
- GPs need to consider a holistic view of the family, including maternal well-being and socioeconomic factors, when assessing child consultation frequency.
- Maternal psychological health and life stressors are important determinants of pediatric healthcare utilization.
Abstract:
General Practitioners catering for Service families need to be aware of the multiple influences on patients consultation. The children who attend frequently are those who have already been ill and those that attend a nursery school. The mother is influential if she has had experience in looking after children, if she has had employment out of the home and if her formal education was poor. The psychological state of the mother has been shown to have an impact and to be linked to the childhood consultation rate. This psychological state could well be influenced by frequent life events such as moving house and absence from the home of the spouse.