title: What Do Children with Chronic Diseases and Their Parents Think About Pediatricians? A Qualitative Interview Study.
abstract: Objectives The aim of this study was to determine how pediatric patients and their parents perceive health care during hospital stays, what are their expectations of doctor behaviors, and which components of care do they consider to be the most important. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was carried out using the open interview technique. Twenty-six parents and 22 children undergoing hospital treatment participated. Results Our analysis identified two major themes: (1) doctor verbal and non-verbal behaviors, which included informing and explaining, conversations on topics other than the illness, tone of voice and other behaviors; and (2) perceived strategies used by doctors. This category included claims of doctors' intentional use of medical jargon to avoid addressing parental questions directly. Parents admitted that they did not understand medical vocabulary, but they also thought they might understand more of the medical issues if the doctor spoke using terms comprehensible to them. Conlcusions Our study shows the importance of interpersonal relationship affecting patient perception of quality of pediatric care. Parents of pediatric patients perceive that doctors behave in ways that deflect parents' questions and avoid providing them with medical information. Such behaviors include doctors excusing themselves by saying they are busy and using medical jargon. Medical students and doctors should be trained to communicate effectively with patients and their parents and develop skills to convey information in a simple and comprehensible way.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Disorders, Ludwik Zamenhof Children's Hospital, Medical University of Bialystok, Waszyngtona Street 17, 15-274, Białystok, Poland. jurekonstant@o2.pl.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Konstantynowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Community Nursing, Medical University of Bialystok, Białystok, Poland.
authors.forename: Ludmiła
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marcinowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Disorders, Ludwik Zamenhof Children's Hospital, Medical University of Bialystok, Waszyngtona Street 17, 15-274, Białystok, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Disorders, Ludwik Zamenhof Children's Hospital, Medical University of Bialystok, Waszyngtona Street 17, 15-274, Białystok, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abramowicz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D000072143:Pediatricians / Q000523:psychology*; D010372:Pediatrics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: Communication; Interview; Medical jargon; Patient satisfaction; Patient–doctor relationship