TY - JOUR

T1 - Increased family psychosocial focus during children’s developmental assessments

T2 - a study of parents’ views

AU - Strøyer de Voss, Sarah

AU - Wilson, Philip Michael John

AU - Kirk Ertmann, Ruth

AU - Overbeck, Gritt

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Background: Family psychosocial challenges during the early years of a child’s life are associated with later mental and physical health problems for the child. An increased psychosocial focus on parents in routine child developmental assessments may therefore be justified. Methods: Participants in this qualitative study included 11 mothers and one parental couple (mother and father) with children aged 9–23 months. Participants were recruited to Project Family Wellbeing through their general practice in Denmark. Twelve interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed with a deductive approach. The topic guide drew on the core components of the Health Belief Model, which also served as a framework for the coding that was conducted using thematic analysis. Results: Results are presented in four themes and 11 subthemes in total. Parents welcome discussion of their psychosocial circumstances during their child’s developmental assessments. Clinicians’ initiatives to address psychosocial challenges and alignment of parents’ and clinicians’ expectations may be required to allow this discussion. A flowing conversation, an open communication style and a trustful relationship facilitate psychosocial discussion. Barriers included short consultation time, concerns about how information was used and when parents found specific psychosocial aspects stigmatising or irrelevant to discuss. Conclusion: Enquiry about the family’s psychosocial circumstances in routine developmental assessments is acceptable among parents. Alignment of clinical and parental expectations of developmental assessments could facilitate the process. Future research should examine the predictive validity of the various components of developmental assessments. Trial registration: This is a qualitative study. The study participants are part of the cohort from Project Family Wellbeing (FamilieTrivsel). The project’s trial registry number: NCT04129359. Registered October 16th 2019.

AB - Background: Family psychosocial challenges during the early years of a child’s life are associated with later mental and physical health problems for the child. An increased psychosocial focus on parents in routine child developmental assessments may therefore be justified. Methods: Participants in this qualitative study included 11 mothers and one parental couple (mother and father) with children aged 9–23 months. Participants were recruited to Project Family Wellbeing through their general practice in Denmark. Twelve interviews were conducted, transcribed and analysed with a deductive approach. The topic guide drew on the core components of the Health Belief Model, which also served as a framework for the coding that was conducted using thematic analysis. Results: Results are presented in four themes and 11 subthemes in total. Parents welcome discussion of their psychosocial circumstances during their child’s developmental assessments. Clinicians’ initiatives to address psychosocial challenges and alignment of parents’ and clinicians’ expectations may be required to allow this discussion. A flowing conversation, an open communication style and a trustful relationship facilitate psychosocial discussion. Barriers included short consultation time, concerns about how information was used and when parents found specific psychosocial aspects stigmatising or irrelevant to discuss. Conclusion: Enquiry about the family’s psychosocial circumstances in routine developmental assessments is acceptable among parents. Alignment of clinical and parental expectations of developmental assessments could facilitate the process. Future research should examine the predictive validity of the various components of developmental assessments. Trial registration: This is a qualitative study. The study participants are part of the cohort from Project Family Wellbeing (FamilieTrivsel). The project’s trial registry number: NCT04129359. Registered October 16th 2019.

KW - Child health

KW - Developmental assessments

KW - Infant mental health

KW - Mental health

KW - Preventive care

KW - Psychosocial

KW - Wellbeing

U2 - 10.1186/s12887-024-04800-4

DO - 10.1186/s12887-024-04800-4

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38750557

AN - SCOPUS:85193355848

VL - 24

JO - BMC Pediatrics

JF - BMC Pediatrics

SN - 1471-2431

IS - 1

M1 - 335

ER -