Abstract
Study Objective
To explore parental and adolescent views on the confidential interview in the gynecologic
setting and compare adolescent reported risk-taking behaviors with parental perception.
Design
Anonymous surveys were administered separately to parents/guardians and adolescents
between the ages of 11 and 17 years. Information pertaining to the patient's Tanner
stage and reason for visit was obtained from the provider. This first phase served
as the usual care group. In the second phase of the study, surveys were again distributed
after a brief educational intervention. Linear regression analysis, Wilcoxon rank
sum test, and Fisher exact test were used where appropriate.
Setting and Participants
Pediatric and adolescent gynecology clinics in 2 tertiary hospitals.
Interventions
Brief educational handout on key concepts of the confidential interview.
Main Outcome Measures
Parental perception of the confidential interview and adolescent risk-taking behaviors.
Results
A total of 248 surveys were included in the final analysis, which accounts for 62
adolescent and parent/guardian pairs in each group. Most parents and adolescents reported
perceived benefit to the confidential interview. However, parents were less likely
to rate benefits of private time specifically for their own adolescent and less than
half of the parents believed that adolescents should have access to private time in
the gynecologic setting. Parents/guardians as well as adolescents feared that the
confidential interview would limit the parent's ability to take part in decision-making.
The low support for confidential time for their adolescent was not different in the
usual care group compared with the intervention group, although there was a trend
toward parental acceptance with increased adolescent age. Adolescents were consistently
more likely to report more risk-taking behaviors than their parents perceived.
Conclusion
There is a discord between parental perception and adolescent reports of risk-taking
behaviors. This is coupled with a lack of understanding or comfort regarding the benefits
of the confidential interview among parents and adolescents who present for gynecologic
care. A short educational intervention had only a modest effect on parental perceptions
regarding the confidential interview.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 26, 2018
Footnotes
The authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
This work was presented, in part, as a poster at the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology 28th Annual Clinical Meeting and received the Sally E. Perlman Award for Best Poster Presentation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in April 2014.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
