Include Dads in Kids Doctor Visits

April 3, 2006 -- When babies and kids visit doctors, most dads want to come along, states a study in Pediatrics.

The study included 32 fathers of 3-year-olds. More than half of fathers had attended a routine checkup (well-child visits). Most had taken their children to other doctors in the past year (84%), such as for sick visits or emergency room visits.

The researchers were Craig Garfield, MD, MAPP, and Anthony Isacco, MA. Both work in the pediatrics department of Illinois' Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute. Garfield also works in Chicago at the pediatrics department of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.

Garfield's team interviewed the dads. In those interviews, the dads mentioned wanting to attend well-child visits for four main reasons:

• Gather information about their child
• Support their child
• Ask questions and express concerns
• Gain firsthand experience of the doctor and the well-child visit

Dads Weigh In on Kids' Doctors

The dads were about 31 years old. More than half were married (53%) and most were employed (84%).

Fifty-six percent were black, 28% were Hispanic, and 15% were white. The dads all lived in Chicago or Milwaukee and had been involved in their child's life when the child was born.

Most dads reported positive experiences with their child's medical team. But 80% of the fathers also mentioned barriers that stood in the way. Those problems included:

• Work schedules that conflicted with well-child visits
• Lack of confidence in their parenting skills
• Strained relationships with the child's mother
• Lack of access to the child's medical records and insurance information

Nearly two-thirds of the dads noted that they could work around those problems in order to attend a well-child visit.

Encouraging Dads' Interest

The researchers offer these suggestions to include dads in well-child visits:

• Scheduling well-child visits at a time when both parents can attend.
• Talking about how parents and kids' doctors can share medical information.
• Using technology (including cell phones and email) to improve doctor-dad communication.
• Giving dads a note from the child's doctor to give their bosses about the appointment.

Giving routine checkups new names, like "the four-month assessment," might also help, write Garfield and Isacco.

Why make the word change? The goal is to stress that "these periodic visits are not simply boxes to check off for the child as he or she matures, but rather a forum where key information is exchanged," the researchers write.

Fathers may have tried to make themselves sound good in the interviews, and the findings might not apply to all dads, Garfield and Isacco note.

Still, the researchers conclude that "clearly, fathers want to be involved in the well-child visits of their children."

SOURCES: Garfield, C. Pediatrics, April 2006; vol 117: pp e637-e645. News release, American Academy of Pediatrics.