Why parents seek medical evaluations for their children with mild acute illnesses.
The reasons underlying parents' decisions to seek medical evaluations for their mildly ill children are not well understood. This cross-sectional study tracked parents' requests for on-site medical evaluations at a sick child care program. A logistic regression model identified factors associated with parents' decisions to seek medical evaluations for their children based on the data from parent-completed questionnaires. A convenience sample of 196 parents completed all questionnaires; 62 (31.6%) parents sought medical evaluations. Parents were more likely to seek medical evaluations if they were concerned about missing work (odds ratio = 8.6; 95% confidence interval, 3.3-22.0; P = .0001), if they smoked (odds ratio = 3.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-12.4; P = .037), or if their spouse's highest educational attainment was some high school (odds ratio = 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-1.0; P = .044). The data highlight the problems working parents have in accessing health care during usual working hours and the potential value of convenient health care programs.
Departments of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. voigt.robert@mayo.edu
Robert G
RG
Voigt
Shirley K
SK
Johnson
Andrew H
AH
Hashikawa
Michael W
MW
Mellon
Lynnelle J
LJ
Campeau
Arthur R
AR
Williams
Barbara P
BP
Yawn
Young J
YJ
Juhn
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors