Brief approaches to educating patients and parents in primary care

Pediatricians are encouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Bright Futures guidelines to use well-child care as an opportunity to promote learning and development, encourage positive parenting practices, help children acquire behavioral self-control, and enhance the well-being of children and their families. Such counseling can consume considerable provider time. In an era of dwindling resources for health care, there is pressure to deliver services as efficiently and effectively as possible. Thus, the purpose of this article is to view methods for patient and parent education that are not only effective but also brief.

Review of 114 articles on issues relevant to patient education.

Parents appear to respond best to information that focuses on their specific area of concern. Media, such as advertising campaigns or office posters, can be helpful for broadening parents' range of interests. In response, verbal suggestions are effective for conveying brief, concrete information when parents are not stressed. Written information should be added for addressing more complex issues. Modeling and role-playing appear especially useful when confronted with problematic parenting or child behavior. These approaches, if selected wisely and applied well, offer families needed assistance that has proven effectiveness in improving children's and families' health and well-being.