PARENTS KNOWLEDGE OF THE PURPOSES AND CONTENT OF PREPARTICIPATION PHYSICAL-EXAMINATIONS

Objectives: To determine whether parents of student athletes plan to u se the preparticipation physical examination (PPE) as their student at hlete's only annual health evaluation, to identify factors associated with this decision, and to assess their knowledge about the objectives of PPEs and more comprehensive examinations. Design: Survey. Setting: General community, school-sponsored PPEs. Participants: A convenience sample of parents or guardians of high school student athletes who ob tained a school-sponsored, multiple-station format PPE were surveyed b y using an anonymous paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Questionnaires we re completed by the parents of 381 of 763 student athletes who obtaine d PPEs (participation rate, 49.9%). Results: Thirty percent of the par ents in this sample planned to use the PPE as their student athlete's only contact with a health care provider. Parents whose adolescent's h ealth insurance provided for comprehensive health assessments were mor e likely than those without this benefit to plan a comprehensive care evaluation (75% vs 60%, respectively) (P=.01 by chi(2) analysis). In a ddition to addressing problems that might affect sports participation, parents thought that the PPE visit should evaluate medical problems t hat are unrelated to athletics (34%), perform health screening procedu res (22%), assess social or behavioral issues (16%), and provide immun izations (7%). Conclusions: Many parents plan to use the PPE as their student athlete's only scheduled contact with a health care provider; this decision may be influenced by factors that are related to access to health care and misperceptions with regard to the mission of these specialized examinations. For these adolescents, important medical, so cial, and behavioral needs may not be met. Consideration should be giv en to including elements of the PPE in health assessments that are per formed by individual clinicians or expanding the scope of large-group, multiple-station format PPEs.