Anticipatory guidance - What information do parents receive? What information do they want?

Objective: To determine whether parents are receiving anticipatory guidance , whether they could use more information on anticipatory guidance topics, and how receipt of anticipatory guidance relates to satisfaction with care. Design and Sample: Analysis of data from a telephone interview of 2017 resp ondents between July 1995 and January 1996. A stratified random-digit diali ng design was used to obtain a nationally representative sample of parents with children between 0 and 3 years old. Main Outcome Measures: Discussions with a physician or nurse about 6 antici patory guidance topics and whether parents could use more information on th ese topics. Willingness of parents to pay extra to discuss these topics and receive additional care. Ratings of how well clinicians provide health car e. Results: The percentage of parents who had not discussed each subject with a clinician varied by topic: newborn care (< 3 months old), 38%; crying, 65 %; sleep patterns, 59%; encouraging learning, 77%; discipline (ages 6-36 mo nths), 75%; and toilet training (ages 18-36 months), 66%. Thirty-seven perc ent of parents had not discussed any of these topics. Among parents who had not discussed a particular issue, the percentage who reported that they co uld use more information ranged from 22% for both newborn care and crying t o 55% for encouraging learning; similar percentages who had discussed the t opics could also use more information. Parents who had discussed more of th ese topics with a clinician were more likely to report excellent care. Pare nts who could use more information on a larger number of topics were much m ore willing to pay for additional care. Conclusions: Although anticipatory guidance is considered an important comp onent of well-child care, the majority of parents reported that they had no t discussed most standard topics with a clinician. Many parents could use m ore information on these topics. Effort is required to provide parents with the information they need to take good care of their children.