Interaction between children and pediatrician – a qualitative study

Abstract

This study evaluated a child’s perception in relation to the pediatrician, to the offered help and his involvement in the decisions about his own health. It is a study of qualitative methodology, developed from semi-structural interviews, with twelve subjective questions applied to children in tertiary hospitals and ambulatories. The studied sample was composed of 40 children, between seven and fifteen years of age, equally distributed between a public service and a private one. The analysis of the interviews demonstrated that 40% of the children of the public service and 70% of the private service have some degree of unsatisfaction with the medical consultation. When asked about what they most liked in the pediatrician, a great part of children said that they liked him when he gave attention to them, when he had patience and was playful. Some criticisms have been remarked such as lack of patience and delicacy. Some children stated that they were troubled when the physician talked more with their parents than with them. Most of children declared to understand well the explanations about diagnosis and treatments of their diseases. A more direct communication between the physician and the child stimulates the elaboration of self-help and self-esteem of the child, which facilitate the diagnostic evaluations and offer better therapeutic results.