Exploring collaboration between clinicians and parents to optimize pediatric weight management

• Published in: Patient education and counseling Vol. 87; no. 1; pp. 10 - 17
• Main Authors: Farnesi, Biagina-Carla, Newton, Amanda S, Holt, Nicholas L, Sharma, Arya M, Ball, Geoff D.C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01.04.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Alberta; Biological and medical sciences; Body Mass Index; Canada; Child; Child Health Services - organization & administration; Child, Preschool; Communication; Cooperative Behavior; Family centred care; Family–professional relations; Focus Groups; Health services; Humans; Individualized programmes; Infant; Internal Medicine; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Nursing; Obesity; Overweight - prevention & control; Overweight - therapy; Paediatrics; Parents; Pediatric; Pediatrics; Professional-Family Relations; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Qualitative; Qualitative Research; Surveys and Questionnaires; Weight Gain; Weight loss; Canada; North America; America; Alberta; Obesity; Canada; Qualitative; Pediatric; Communication; Family–professional relations; Participation; Pediatrics; Health staff family relation; Survey; Questionnaire; Body weight; Quality; Family environment; Interview
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2011.08.011

Abstract Objective To explore the understanding of collaboration between clinicians working in pediatric weight management and parents of overweight children. Methods Clinicians ( n = 12) and parents ( n = 8) seeking pediatric weight management care participated in semi-structured focus groups or individual interviews. A family-centered, collaborative model of care was used to frame the data and develop codes/themes for analysis. Member checking and external reviews were conducted to verify emergent themes. Results Analyses revealed that collaboration between clinicians and parents included a positive therapeutic relationship, negotiation of health care delivery, and regular monitoring and evaluation. These elements are consistent with a philosophy of family-centered care, emphasize the importance of tailoring health services to families’ needs, respect parents as experts, and identify clinician responsiveness as pivotal to partnerships with families. Parents described dissatisfaction with care and a lower likelihood of seeking future care when clinicians deviated from these principles. Conclusion Results suggest that pediatric weight management should be family-centered to give parents the opportunity to actively engage in health services and negotiate their family's care. Practice implications Clinicians may be able to optimize their interactions with families seeking pediatric weight management care by taking a family-centered approach that is individualized and responsive to families’ needs.