Longitudinal associations of visit satisfaction and treatment alliance with outcomes in pediatric obesity clinic visits

Acceptability of Hospital-Based Pediatric Weight Management Services among Patients and Families: A Narrative Synthesis

High rates of attrition from pediatric weight management services are well documented in the literature; however, studies reporting on acceptability of "real-world" services have not previously been reviewed. This narrative synthesis aimed to summarize quantitative and qualitative research reporting on satisfaction of families who attended a secondary or tertiary pediatric weight management service. Electronic databases were searched for studies of family and/or patient satisfaction with hospital-based pediatric weight management services. Included articles were scored on their methodological quality. Searches returned 4509 articles of which 17 were eligible. Education, practical strategies to assist behavior change and the approach of staff were reported as the most valued service aspects. Practical, organizational, and service content issues were reported as the primary reasons for poor engagement or discontinuation of treatment. The majority of recommendations for service improvement related to service content, with the following subthemes: program content, delivery of the weight management intervention, individualized treatment, and treatment expectations. Potential strategies for reducing attrition and improving consumer satisfaction include assessment of families' readiness to change at the outset of treatment and implementation of treatment non-negotiables. Development of a standardized measure of patient satisfaction for use in pediatric weight management service development, evaluation, and comparison is recommended.

Development and Initial Validation of the Communication About Medication by Providers-Parent Scale (CAMP-P)

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Communication about Medication by Providers-Parent Scale (CAMP-P), a 24-item measure of communication relevant to medication adherence between parents and medical providers. Parents of youth (ages 2-7 years) who had received a prescription within the last 12 months completed online surveys regarding demographic and appointment variables, and child's recent prescription medications, and they completed the newly developed CAMP-P. Exploratory factor analysis of CAMP-P identified 20 items about provider communication corresponding to 3 distinct scales: medication administration strategies, encouraging communication, and addressing barriers to medication taking. Factor scales were related to appointment variables, such as length of time spent discussing medications. The CAMP-P demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity. The CAMP-P is a novel, validated measure of parent perceptions of medication communication and can be utilized to evaluate parent-provider communication on pediatric medication adherence in clinical and research settings.