Shared vision: Concordance among fathers, mothers, and pediatricians aboutunmet needs of children with chronic health conditions

Objective. These analyses were undertaken to investigate the number and typ es of services and assistance believed to be useful to children with a chro nic health condition and their families. The perspective of mothers, father s, and primary care physicians were sought separately and compared. Methods. Families that include at least 1 child with a chronic health condi tion were selected from pediatric practices in Central Massachusetts. All 3 respondents completed a questionnaire describing their own perspective of current needs and of the severity of the child's condition. The 3 perspecti ves are compared statistically and areas of agreement/disagreement are desc ribed. Results. Mothers, fathers, and physicians described children's and families ' needs with a surprising degree of concordance. On the other hand, pediatr icians identified fewer needs, despite rating the severity of children's il lnesses as greater than did parents. Mothers and fathers agreed substantial ly about the level of severity of their child's condition and about their u nmet needs. Conclusions. It is important that pediatric practice systems include effect ive mechanisms to assess parents' opinions regarding the unmet needs of the ir child/family in the face of a child with a chronic health condition. Wit hout input from families, pediatricians are aware of only some of the needs that parents identify.