[The role of the general practitioner in the health center].
BACKGROUND
With the introduction of the list patient system, it has been suggested that routine examination of children should be transferred to the general practitioners (GPs). The aim of this study was to find out how the users of the public child health centres view the relationship between the child health centre and the GPs, and to find out whether parents would like their GPs to perform the routine examinations.


METHODS
A questionnaire was given to parents in a small Norwegian town who attended the child health centre during spring and summer 2003 and to the town's GPs. Replies were received from 189 parents and from 14 out of 18 GPs.


RESULTS
29% of the parents would prefer to have their GP perform the routine examinations, 48% preferred not to and 23% did not express an opinion. Among the GPs, the corresponding figures were 57%, 29% and 14%. 93% of the GPs felt the need for closer cooperation between GP and child health centre.


CONCLUSIONS
The parents thought that having their GPs perform the routine examinations was less important than the contact with the health visitor and other parents. The GPs wanted closer cooperation between child health centre and GP. We recommend local trials in which the GPs perform the routine examinations of children on their list, at the child health centre.
Seierstad
Tori Guldahl
TG
Svingen legesenter, Nymosvingen 2, 2609 Lillehammer. tori.seierstad@broadpark.no
Straand
Jørund
J
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003151:Community Health Centers / Q000458:organization & administration; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009664:Norway; D010290:Parents; D010819:Physician's Role; D010821:Physicians, Family; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce