Childhood Obesity and Parental Perceptions of Healthcare Quality Open Access

Abstract

Childhood Obesity and Parental Perceptions of Healthcare Quality
Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the association between parental perceptions of healthcare quality and overweight/obese status of children using a nationally representative survey.

Research methods and Procedures: This study analyzed the National Survey of Children's Health, 2007 and included 41,915 children who had BMI percentiles reported. The outcome variable was dichotomized into overweight/obese and healthy weight children. The exposure variables were four questions pertaining to healthcare quality derived from the NSCH survey: These inquired whether parents felt that healthcare providers spent enough time with their children, provided specific information needed, listened carefully to parents or made parents feel like a partner in child's healthcare. Possible confounders of this relationship were age, sex, race, poverty level, whether child has a usual source of healthcare, health insurance status and mother's education level. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between weight categories and each these healthcare quality indices.

Results: Of the 41,915 children analyzed, 31% were overweight or obese. Crude estimates revealed that parents of overweight or obese children reported lower levels of satisfaction than parents of healthy weight children with regards to time spent (p<0.01), providing specific information needed (p=0.016), listening carefully to parent (p<0.01) and feeling like a partner in child's healthcare (p=0.024). However these results are attenuated and no longer significant when adjusted for other variables.

Discussion: This study finds no significant association between parental perceptions of quality of healthcare delivered to children based on their weight status. This may be represent an opportunity to reduce childhood obesity rates by harnessing provider parent relationships.

Table of Contents

Table of contents
Abstract...4
Introduction...7
Research Question...8
Review of Literature...9
Methodology...12
Results...15
Discussion...20
Conclusions...21
References...22
Appendix...23

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Career Masters of Public Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	Childhood Obesity, Healthcare Quality
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Kramer, Michael R, Emory University
Committee Members	Isong, Inyang, Harvard
Partnering Agencies	Does not apply (no collaborating organization)

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