title: Confidentiality with adolescents in the medical setting: what do parents think?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  When confidential health care is provided to adolescents they are more likely to seek care, disclose sensitive information, and return for future visits. Guidelines for health professionals recommend seeing young people alone to facilitate confidential care. We sought to document parental views regarding confidentiality with adolescents, aiming to identify topics that parents believe they should be informed about despite an assurance of confidentiality between their child and the doctor. We also aimed to document harms and benefits that parents associate with adolescents seeing doctors alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 86 parents attending an adolescent medicine clinic with their son/daughter was surveyed using a brief, anonymous questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents identified several benefits associated with confidential care, yet also believed they should be informed about a wide range of topics, even if their children did not want them to know. Parents' primary concern about confidentiality was a fear of not being informed about important information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental views concerning confidentiality are complex and conflicting and differ from current guidance provided to health professionals. Ensuring that parents accurately understand the limits to confidentiality and support the notion of confidential care for their children is a challenging yet vital task for health professionals.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Adolescent Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. rony.duncan@mcri.edu.au
authors.forename: Rony E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Moya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vandeleur
authors.forename: Anouk
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Derks
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000295:Adolescent Medicine; D003219:Confidentiality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D035622:Parental Notification; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria