title: Pediatricians' role and practices regarding provision of guidance about sexual risk reduction to parents.
abstract: A randomly selected nationally representative sample of 508 practicing pediatricians was surveyed in order to identify factors associated with physician delivery of primary prevention to parents about sexual risk reduction (SRR). A full 86% (n = 435) reported that provision of SRR guidance is equally or more important than other guidance provided to parents. Among the 435, only 121 (28%) provided SRR guidance to >75% of parents of their adolescent patients. Multivariate analyses revealed barriers of: lack of training, lack of request from parents, and awkwardness. To promote parent-child communication, physicians suggested high-quality brochures for parents (84%); a list of resources (74%); and tools to facilitate parent-child discussions (63%). Pediatricians and parents are important components of sexual risk prevention efforts for adolescents. Editors' Strategic Implications: The findings related to the perceived importance-but infrequent delivery-of SRR communication between pediatricians and parents of adolescents have implications for training and information dissemination in pediatric practices, as well as other health and reproductive health settings.
authors.affiliation: Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention-SE, National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS E-45, Atlanta, GA, 30333, USA. kmiller@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Kim S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Sarah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wyckoff
authors.forename: Carol Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Whitaker
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sukalac
authors.forename: Mary Glenn
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Fowler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003144:Communication Barriers; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D010819:Physician's Role; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011322:Primary Prevention; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires