Abstract
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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 244-251 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Clinical Pediatrics |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2008 |
Keywords
- Acute illness
- Child health services
- Health policy
- Medical evaluation
- Parents
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health