Campeau, Lynnelle J.

This cross-sectional study examines the relationship between parenting stress and concerns identified by developmental screening and their effects on parents' decisions to seek medical care for their children. A total of 182 parents completed both the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) when their children were admitted to a sick child care program that provides parents the option of requesting medical evaluations for their children with mild acute illnesses. Although 31.6% of parents (N = 62) requested medical evaluations, neither PSI nor PEDS scores were associated with these requests. However, PEDS scores indicating significant parental concerns about their child's development or behavior predicted clinically significant levels of parenting stress on the PSI (odds ratio 4.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-15.9; P = .007). Primary pediatric health care providers who routinely perform developmental screening need to consider this relationship when interpreting developmental screening results and offer supportive and referral services to families as needed.

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.