Physician-parent Communication Research Articles

Reply to Stokes and Watson

We appreciate the dialog initiated by Stokes and Watson1 in response to the publication regarding prenatal counseling beyond the threshold of viability.2 The need to counsel parents of risks and issues surrounding premature birth at >25 weeks gestation is being increasingly recognized. Recently, this journal published a supplemental issue entitled ‘Multidisciplinary Guidelines for the Care of Late Preterm Infants (LPI).’ In this publication the steering committee for the National Perinatal Association recommended that medical professionals ‘communicate risks of late preterm birth (prior to delivery, if possible), explaining that immature organ systems and brain of LPI may lead to complications….’3 In a study of counseling practices regarding premature infants in hospitals across the United States, Mehrotra et al.4 found that all 337 hospitals in the study routinely offered counseling to parents expecting birth up to 33 weeks gestation. However, there is not much information or discussion in the literature regarding the content or timing of this important parent–physician communication. With this publication we were hoping to generate similar dialog and more research in this area.

A WIC-Based Curriculum to Enhance Parent Communication with Healthcare Providers

The objectives describe a curriculum to support parent-provider communication about child development, and to demonstrate its impact and effectiveness when delivered by staff from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). A curriculum was developed by a university-WIC partnership for a WIC center-based health education class to teach parents about child development and how to talk to their child's doctor about development. During a 90-min training session, university pediatricians used this curriculum and trained WIC paraprofessionals to conduct a 20-30min center-based education session. WIC paraprofessionals completed an on-line survey to obtain their demographic characteristics, and their attitudes and perceptions about the training sessions and their experiences teaching the center-based health education session to parents. Approximately 500 WIC paraprofessionals received the 90-min training session across 60 centers in the Public Health Foundation Enterprises WIC Program in Southern California. About 250 WIC paraprofessionals completed the on-line survey and over 80% of WIC staff reported that they had learned new information about child development as a result of the training, and 87% of the WIC staff reported that the training was sufficient to feel comfortable teaching the class content to parents. We demonstrated the ability to build WIC paraprofessional capacity to promote parental participation in child developmental surveillance and communication with their child's doctor. With appropriate training, WIC staff are interested in supporting population-based efforts to improve parent-physician communication about child development that can complement WIC's existing maternal and child health topics.

Communicating and Understanding the Purpose of Pediatric Phase I Cancer Trials

Quality informed consent should provide a clear understanding of the purpose of the research. Given the ethical challenges of pediatric phase I cancer trials, it is important to investigate physician-parent communication during informed consent conferences (ICCs) and parental understanding of the purpose of these studies. In the multisite Informed Consent in Pediatric Phase I Cancer Trials study, 85 ICCs for phase I research between June 2008 and May 2011 were directly observed, and 60 parents were subsequently interviewed. The scientific purpose was defined as composite understanding of drug safety, dose finding, and dose escalation. We determined the frequency with which physicians explained these and other phase I-related concepts during the ICC. Parent interviews were analyzed to determine understanding. The child was present at 83 of 85 ICCs. Only 32% of parents demonstrated substantial understanding of the scientific purpose of phase I cancer trials; 35% demonstrated little or no understanding. Parents of higher socioeconomic status and racial majority status were more likely to understand the scientific purpose. Factors associated with understanding included physician explanation of the goal of the applicable phase I protocol offered (explained in 85% of ICCs) and explanation of the dose cohorts (explained in 43% of ICCs). Physicians explained drug safety in 23% of ICCs, dose finding in 52% of ICCs, and dose escalation in 53% of ICCs. Many parents of children participating in phase I trials do not understand the purpose of these trials. Physician-parent communication about the purpose of phase I research is lacking during ICCs.

Research Participation Experiences of Parents of Children with Cancer Who Were Asked about their Child's Prognosis

In questionnaire-based research, human subject protection committees must assess the emotional impact of the study on participants. Without clear data about the risks and benefits of participating in such studies, however, review board members must use personal judgment to assess emotional harm. To examine experiences of distress and value of participation in a study of prognosis communication among parents of children with cancer, and to identify factors associated with predominantly distressing research experiences. We surveyed 194 parents of children with cancer (overall response rate, 70%), treated at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass, in the first year after the child's cancer diagnosis. The survey focused on the child's prognosis and parent-physician communication; at the end, we asked parents how distressing and how useful completing the survey had been to them personally. Only 1% of parents found research participation to be "very" distressing. The majority of parents were "not at all" distressed by participating (62%), and most reported that the questionnaire was at least "a little" useful to them personally (69%). Overall, 18% of parents gave higher ratings for distress than for utility. Parents were more likely to experience research participation as predominantly distressing when they found prognostic information to be upsetting (odds ratio [OR] 5.38, p=0.005). Most participating parents were able to respond to questions about their child's prognosis with little or no distress. Even when distress was present, it was often accompanied by a perception that participating was of value.

Parent Participation and Physician-Parent Communication During Informed Consent in Child Leukemia

In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of a physician-directed intervention at enhancing positive physician behaviors and communication strategies during informed consent conferences (ICCs) for pediatric acute leukemia clinical trials. Physicians at 2 large pediatric hospitals were recruited to participate in a physician-directed intervention (PDI), which included 1 full-day seminar and successive half-day booster sessions. ICCs were then observed, audiotaped, coded, and analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Data also were collected at 2 control sites. Between 2003 and 2007, 59 ICCs were observed and analyzed. Significant group differences were found in physician rapport-building behaviors. Physicians in the PDI + booster session group engaged in greater rapport-building than did physicians in the PDI group who did not attend booster sessions and physicians in the control group. No group differences were detected for physician partnership-building. In addition, parents in the PDI + booster session group engaged in more general communication and study-related communication, and mothers in the PDI groups asked significantly more questions per minute than did mothers in the control group. These results provide support for the effectiveness of the PDI at enhancing positive physician behaviors. Booster-session attendance is a critical component of physician-directed interventions to improve parental participation and physician-parent communication during ICCs.

The effect of using standardized patients or peer role play on ratings of undergraduate communication training: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectivesConsidering the expense of standardized patients (SP) for training communication skills and the convenience of peer role playing (RP) there is a surprising lack of studies directly comparing the two methods. MethodsFifth year medical students (N=103) were assigned to three groups receiving a training in counseling parents of sick children with RP (N=34) or SP (N=35) or to a control group (CG, N=34). We assessed self-efficacy, as well as objective performance in parent–physician communication using questionnaires and the Calgary-Cambridge-Observation-Guide Checklist in a six-station OSCE, respectively. ResultsThe training led to an increase in self-efficacy ratings and in the post-intervention OSCE score after RP (p<.021 and p<.001 respectively) and SP-training (p<.007 and p<.006 respectively) compared to controls. Surprisingly, this benefit was higher after RP than after SP-training (p<.021) due to significantly higher performance in the domain understanding of parents’perspective (p<.001). ConclusionBoth RP and SP are valuable tools for training specific communication skills. RP offer a methodological advantage in fostering empathy for patient perspectives. Practice implicationsBoth peer-role-play and standardized patients hold specific benefits for communication training. Peer-role-play seems to foster a more empathic approach towards patients’ concerns justifying its prominent role in medical curricula.

Parent Participation and Physician-Parent Communication During Informed Consent in Child Leukemia

Parent Participation and Physician-Parent Communication During Informed Consent in Child Leukemia

Reduction in Antibiotic Use Following a Cluster Randomized Controlled Multifaceted Intervention: The Israeli Judicious Antibiotic Prescription Study

Antibiotic overuse is of great public health concern. This study assessed whether intervention among physicians and their treated population could achieve a sustained reduction in antibiotic use, specifically in classes known to promote antibiotic resistance among children in a community setting. We performed a cluster randomized controlled multifaceted trial among 52 primary care pediatricians and the 88,000 children registered in their practices. The intervention was led by local leaders and engaged the participating physicians. It included physician focus group meetings, workshops, seminars, and practice campaigns. These activities focused on self-developed guidelines, improving parent and physician knowledge, diagnostic skills, and parent-physician communication skills that promoted awareness of antibiotic resistance. The main outcome measure was the change in annual antibiotic prescription rates (APRs) of children treated by the intervention group physicians as compared with rates among those treated by control group physicians. The study comprised a 2-year pre-intervention period, a 3-year intervention period, and a 1-year follow-up period. Mixed-effect models were used to assess risk ratios to account for the clustered study design. A decrease in the total APR among children treated by the intervention physicians compared with those treated by the control physicians was observed in the first intervention year (APR decrease among control physicians, 40%; APR decrease among intervention physicians, 22%; relative risk [RR], .76; 95% confidence interval [CI], .75-.78). This reduction crossed over all antibiotic classes but was most prominent for macrolides (macrolide prescription rate among control physicians, 58%; macrolide prescription rate among intervention physicians, 27%; RR, .58; 95% CI, .55-.62). The effect was sustained during the 4 following years. CONCLUSIONS. Multifaceted intervention that engages the physicians in an educational process is effective in reducing APRs and can be sustained. NCT01187758.

Animal Origins of Surfactant: A Survey of Neonatologists’ Perceptions and Practices Regarding Parent Information Sharing

Exogenous surfactants commonly used to treat a variety of neonatal respiratory diseases are derived from either bovine or porcine sources. The extent to which parents are aware of this fact is currently unclear, as is the impact that this may have on familial cultural or religious belief systems. Our primary aims were to assess U.S. neonatologists’ utilization of bovine and porcine surfactant preparations, their views on parent disclosure pertaining to the particular animal origins of exogenous surfactant therapy, and their willingness to provide alternative surfactant preparations based on parental religious preferences. An anonymous Web-based survey was provided to 2,137 neonatologists. There was a 46.9% response rate. We found that 63.4% of respondents used only bovine-derived surfactants, 14.9% exclusively used porcine-based surfactants, and 21.7% used combinations. While 74.3% of neonatologists discussed surfactant use with parents, only 2.2% always discussed its animal origins. When asked, 47.9% of neonatologists believed parental preference for religious reasons would not impact their surfactant choice, 19.4% reported it would affect their choice, and 32.7% said it maybe would. Access to only one surfactant was a major barrier to communication. Results showed that many neonatologists may be open to being inclusive of parents regarding surfactant therapy. Carrying different surfactant types on hospital pharmacy formularies and encouraging physician–parent communication may achieve a more family-centered approach to neonatal care.

Bracing Following Correction of Idiopathic Clubfoot Using the Ponseti Method

The Ponseti method for the management of idiopathic clubfoot has recently experienced a rise in popularity, with several centers reporting excellent outcomes. The challenge in achieving a successful outcome with this method lies not in correcting deformity but in preventing relapse. The most common cause of relapse is failure to adhere to the prescribed postcorrective bracing regimen. Socioeconomic status, cultural factors, and physician-parent communication may influence parental compliance with bracing. New, more user-friendly braces have been introduced in the hope of improving the rate of compliance. Strategies that may be helpful in promoting adherence include educating the family at the outset about the importance of bracing, encouraging calls and visits to discuss problems, providing clear written instructions, avoiding or promptly addressing skin problems, and refraining from criticism of the family when noncompliance is evident. A strong physician-family partnership and consideration of underlying cognitive, socioeconomic, and cultural issues may lead to improved adherence to postcorrective bracing protocols and better patient outcomes.

Outcome of parent–physician communication skills training for pediatric residents

Objective Communication skills represent an essential component of clinical competence. In the field of pediatrics, communication between physicians and patients’ parents is characterized by particular difficulties. To investigate the effects of a parent–physician communication skills training program on OSCE performance and self-efficacy in a group control design. Methods Parallel to their daily work in the outpatient department, intervention-group experienced clinicians in practice ( n = 14) participated in a communication training with standardized parents. Control-group physicians ( n = 14) did not receive any training beyond their daily work. Performance was assessed by independent video ratings of an OSCE. Both groups rated their self-efficacy prior to and following training. Results Regarding OSCE performance, the intervention group demonstrated superior skills in building relationships with parents ( p < .024) and tended to perform better in exploring parents’ problems ( p < .081). The communication training program led to significant improvement in self-efficacy with respect to the specific training objectives in the intervention group ( p < .046). Conclusion Even in physicians with considerable experience, structured communication training with standardized parents leads to significant improvement in OSCE performance and self-efficacy. Practise implications Briefness and tight structure make the presented communication training program applicable even for experienced physicians in daily clinical practice.

Anxiety and stress in mothers and fathers in the 24 h after their child's surgery

Surgery in a paediatric setting stresses children and their parents. Previous studies have focused on children and the preoperative period; however, the 24 h after child surgery are highly stressful for parents as their child is still physically recovering and physician-parent communication is vital. The aims of this study are to investigate the impact of three levels of severity of paediatric surgery on mothers' and fathers' anxiety and stress and to identify factors that contribute to parental anxiety and acute stress symptoms in the first 24 h after child surgery. A total of 154 parents (91 mothers, 63 fathers) of children who had just undergone elective surgery for a major intervention (n = 41), minor intervention (n = 64) or day surgery (n = 49) completed questionnaires aimed at assessing levels of state anxiety and acute stress symptoms. Social network, socio-economic status and parental health locus of control were evaluated as contributors. Parents reported high levels of state anxiety (26% had scores on the state scale 2 standard deviations above the norm) and acute stress symptoms (28% in at least one of the four acute stress disorder symptom categories). Child's type of surgery is related to parental anxiety [F(2,134) = 38.12, P = 0.0001, eta(2) = 0.175] and acute stress symptoms [F(2,133) = 31.21, P = 0.0001, eta(2) = 0.133]. Parental state anxiety was predicted by parent's gender, trait anxiety and health external locus of control. Parent's number of acute stress symptoms was predicted by parental trait anxiety, health external locus of control, parent's level of education and the number of social contacts. There is a need to take into consideration parental anxiety and distress in the 24 h after child surgery. Parental well-being is related to several characteristics including the severity of child surgery; these aspects should be taken into consideration when interacting with parents in the aftermath of their child's surgery.

Pediatric Fellows: Perspectives on Training and Future Scope of Practice

Training for pediatric residents who intend to pursue fellowship differs little from training for residents who intend to practice general pediatrics. It is unknown how well residents who intend to pursue subspecialty training believe that residency prepares them for subspecialty fellowships or future careers. To characterize the strengths and weaknesses of residency training and the factors influencing subspecialty choice from the perspective of subspecialty fellows, we conducted a survey of current fellows on these issues. A random sample of 1000 physicians who were entering their second or third year of fellowship in the United States in 2007 received a structured questionnaire by mail. The survey focused on decision-making in selection of residency and fellowship programs, strength of residency training in preparation for fellowship, and plans for future practice. The overall response rate was 81%. A majority of the fellows would not have shortened their general pediatrics residency before fellowship if given the option (64% [n = 482]). However, more than half (52% [n = 390]) of the fellows would have chosen a 2-year fellowship without research or scholarly activity over the current 3-year structure. Few current fellows believed they could have used any additional training in the areas of patient safety, coordination of care for children with complex illnesses, or patient communication. The finding that a large proportion of fellows would opt for shortened subspecialty training should prompt discussion and debate within the profession regarding the skills necessary for a pediatric subspecialist. Patient safety, physician-parent communication, and care coordination are emphasized primarily through informal training during residency. Although most clinicians believe themselves to be adequately prepared, research has identified gaps in clinician skills and understanding of these issues of great importance to patients and their families.

Communication About Child Development During Well-Child Visits: Impact of Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status Screener With or Without an Informational Video

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends periodic administration of standardized developmental screening instruments during well-child visits to facilitate timely identification of developmental delay. However, little is known about how parents and physicians communicate about child development or how screening impacts communication. Our goal was to examine whether parent-physician communication about child development is affected by (1) administration of a developmental screen or (2) video presentation on child development before well-child visits. Six primary care pediatricians in a practice serving predominantly Medicaid-insured children participated. Fifteen parents of children 9 to 31 months of age per pediatrician were assigned to 1 of 3 previsit conditions (n = 89): (1) usual care; (2) parent completed the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status screen; or (3) parent viewed 5-minute "activation" video before completing the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status. Visits were audiorecorded and coded by blinded raters using a classification system that assesses communication content. Outcomes included visit length, physicians' questions, information giving, reassurance or counseling about development, and parents' concerns and requests for developmentally related services. Mean visit duration was similar for the 3 groups (22.5 minutes). Physicians made more information-giving and counseling statements about development and raised more developmental concerns in group 3 (video plus the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status) than in group 1 (usual care) visits. A trend toward increased use of such communication was also seen in group 2 (Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status only). Parents were more likely to raise a developmental concern in group 3 than in group 1. No parent requested early intervention, therapy, or other related services. Use of a validated screening test did not increase average visit duration, an important consideration in primary care. Although use of the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status alone led to some increase in parent-physician communication about development and developmental concerns, additional increase in communication was seen with the addition of a brief parent activation video shown before the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status was completed.

Values Parents Apply to Decision-Making Regarding Delivery Room Resuscitation for High-Risk Newborns

The aim of this study was to characterize parental decision-making regarding delivery room resuscitation for infants born extremely prematurely or with potentially lethal congenital anomalies. This was a qualitative multicenter study. We identified English-speaking parents at 3 hospitals whose infants had died as a result of extreme prematurity or lethal congenital anomalies in 1999-2005. Parents were interviewed about their prenatal decision-making. Maternal medical charts were reviewed for documented discussions regarding delivery room resuscitation. Subject enrollment was stopped when saturation of themes was achieved. Twenty-six mothers of infants were interviewed. All parents wanted to participate to some degree in decisions regarding delivery room resuscitation. Few parents recalled discussing options for delivery room resuscitation with physicians, and even fewer recalled being offered the option of comfort care, even when these discussions were documented in the medical chart. Parents did not report physicians' predictions of morbidity and death to be central to their decision-making. Religion, spirituality, and hope guided decision-making for most parents. Some parents felt that they had not made any decisions regarding resuscitation and instead "left things in God's hands." These parents typically were documented by staff members to "want everything done." The values that parents find most important during decision-making regarding delivery room resuscitation may not be addressed routinely in prenatal counseling. Parents and physicians may have different interpretations of what is discussed and what decisions are made. Future work should investigate whether physicians can be trained to address effectively parents' values during the decision-making process and whether addressing these values may improve physician-parent communication and lead to better postdecision outcomes for parents.

Parents’ perspectives on physician-parent communication near the time of a child’s death in the pediatric intensive care unit*

Communicating bad news about a child's illness is a difficult task commonly faced by intensive care physicians. Greater understanding of parents' scope of experiences with bad news during their child's hospitalization will help physicians communicate more effectively. Our objective is to describe parents' perceptions of their conversations with physicians regarding their child's terminal illness and death in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). A secondary analysis of a qualitative interview study. Six children's hospitals in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. Fifty-six parents of 48 children who died in the PICU 3-12 months before the study. Parents participated in audio recorded semistructured telephone interviews. Interviews were analyzed using established qualitative methods. Of the 56 parents interviewed, 40 (71%) wanted to provide feedback on the way information about their child's terminal illness and death was communicated by PICU physicians. The most common communication issue identified by parents was the physicians' availability and attentiveness to their informational needs. Other communication issues included honesty and comprehensiveness of information, affect with which information was provided, withholding of information, provision of false hope, complexity of vocabulary, pace of providing information, contradictory information, and physicians' body language. The way bad news is discussed by physicians is extremely important to most parents. Parents want physicians to be accessible and to provide honest and complete information with a caring affect, using lay language, and at a pace in accordance with their ability to comprehend. Withholding prognostic information from parents often leads to false hopes and feelings of anger, betrayal, and distrust. Future research is needed to investigate whether the way bad news is discussed influences psychological adjustment and family functioning among bereaved parents.

What Are You Waiting For? A Study of Resident Physician-Parent Communication in a Pediatric Emergency Department

This study measures the degree to which parents of patients, in the course of evaluation and treatment in a pediatric emergency department (ED), could report what they were waiting for. Brief in-person interviews were conducted with parents of nonemergency patients during an ED visit. After the patient had been seen by a resident physician and evaluation and treatment were in progress, parents were asked to report what they were waiting for. The patient's physician was also asked to report what the patient was waiting for. These answers were compared and coded as complete agreement, partial agreement, or disagreement. Association between lack of agreement and patient factors (age, sex), parent factors (sex, education, age), physician factors (sex, postgraduate year), and system factors (wait time, time of day, number of patients in the department) was examined. Logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios. A total of 200 paired surveys were included in the data analysis. Two thirds of parental reports completely agreed with physician reports, 11.5% partially agreed, and 21.5% completely disagreed. Multivariate analysis revealed that disagreement between resident physician and parents was associated with parental educational level and physician training level. Parents with less than a high school education were more than 9 times more likely to disagree than those with at least some college education (odds ratio 9.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.4 to 35.7). As the postgraduate level of the physician decreased, disagreement was more common; disagreement for patients of postgraduate level 1 residents was 5 times more likely (95% CI 1.8 to 14.5) than that of postgraduate level 3 and higher residents. As measured by asking the question "what are you waiting for," significant communication gaps were identified between physicians and the parents of their patients in this emergency department. One in five parents could not report what they were waiting for. Factors such as lower parental education and less physician experience increase the risk of such a gap. Further work in defining the source of the ineffective communication and interventions to remediate the problem is needed.

Recommending Randomized Trials for Pediatric Leukemia: Observer and Physician Report of Recommendations

Physicians' presentation of treatment options in a non-coercive manner is critical for informed consent for participation in randomized clinical trials (RCTs). This study examined discrepancies between observer and physician report of treatment recommendations for pediatric leukemia RCTs. This study also assessed relationships between recommendations and decisions to participate in RCTs. Participants were 104 parents of children with leukemia and the treating physicians. Measures included observations of informed consent conferences (ICCs), physician report of treatment recommendations, and parent report of trial participation. Observation revealed that physicians recommended RCTs in 38% of ICCs, while physicians reported recommending RCTs in 73% of ICCs. Treatment recommendations were unrelated to decisions to participate in RCTs. Results highlight the importance of enhancing parent-physician communication regarding RCT participation.

The Effects of Communication Skills Training on Pediatricians' and Parents' Communication During “Sick Child” Visits

This article reports the development and evaluation of a physician–parent communication skills training program designed to improve communication regarding antibiotic prescribing for children. Four pediatricians and 81 parents participated in the study, which involved audiotaping “sick child” office visits and then coding transcripts for evidence of program influence on information seeking, giving, and verifying, as well as relational communication. Parents who received training were more likely to verify information, t(79) = 1.82, p = .04, and more likely to express concerns, t(79) = 1.79, p = .04, than were parents who did not receive training; there was a nonsignificant trend for trained parents to be more likely to give information, t(79) = 1.7, p = .051. In terms of physician behavior, there were nonsignificant trends for physicians to spend more time creating a partnership with parents after training than before training, t(3) = 2.29, p = .053, and to encourage more questions from parents after training than before, t(3) = 2.15, p = .06. In addition, once one outlier parent in the control condition was removed from the analysis, the results showed that physicians spent more time addressing treatment options after training than before, t(3) = 2.9, p = .03. The results of this study are considered promising, with effects shown for various important elements of physician–parent communication. Implications of results and directions for future research are discussed.

Ruling Out the Need for Antibiotics

To examine the relationships among physician-parent communication practices, physicians' perceptions of parental expectations for antibiotic treatment, and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for viral upper respiratory tract infections. Cross-sectional study of pediatric encounters motivated by cold symptoms between October 1, 2000, and June 30, 2001. Each encounter was videotaped. Physicians completed a postvisit survey that measured whether they perceived the parent as expecting antibiotics. Coded communication variables were merged with survey variables. Multivariate analyses identified key predictors of parent-physician communication practices, physician perceptions of parents' expectations for antibiotics, and inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for viral conditions. Twenty-seven pediatric practices in Los Angeles, Calif. Thirty-eight pediatricians and 522 consecutively approached parents of children with cold symptoms. Physicians' perceptions of parental expectations for antibiotics, inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, and parental questioning of nonantibiotic treatments. Physicians were 20.2% more likely to perceive parents as expecting antibiotics when they questioned the physician's treatment plan (P = .004; 95% confidence interval, 6.3%-34.0%). When physicians perceived parents as expecting antibiotics, they were 31.7% more likely to inappropriately prescribe them (P<.001; 95% confidence interval, 16.0%-47.3%). Parents were 24.0% more likely to question the treatment plan when the physician ruled out the need for antibiotics (P = .004; 95% confidence interval, 7.7%-40.3%). Parental questioning of the treatment plan increases physicians' perceptions that antibiotics are expected and thus increases inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. Treatment plans that focus on what can be done to make a child feel better, rather than on what is not needed, ie, antibiotics, may decrease inappropriate antibiotic prescribing.