Parent Preferences for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Physician Attire: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective Physician attire may influence the parent-provider relationship. Previous studies in adult and outpatient pediatrics showed that formal attire with a white coat was preferred. We aimed to describe parent preferences for physician attire in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Study Design We surveyed 101 parents in a level IV NICU. The survey included photographs of a physician in seven different attires. Attire was scored in five domains and parents selected the most preferred attire in different contexts. All attires were compared with formal attire with white coat. Descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact tests, and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare parent responses. Results Scrubs without white coat (40.8 [7.0]) and formal attire without white coat (39.7 [8.0]) had the highest mean (standard deviation) composite preference scores. However, no significant differences between formal attire with white coat (37.1 [9.0]) versus any other attire were observed. When asked to choose a single most preferred attire, scrubs with a coat (32%) and formal with a coat (32%) were chosen most often, but preferences varied by clinical context and parent age. For example, parents preferred surgical scrubs for physicians performing procedures. Parents indicated that physician attire is important to them but does not influence their satisfaction with care. Conclusion Although parents generally favored formal attire and scrubs, the variations based on the context of care and lack of significant preference of one attire suggests that a single dress code policy for physicians in a NICU is unlikely to improve the patient-provider relationship. Key Points

Parent Preferences for Physical Activity in Before and After School Programs in Rural and Suburban Communities: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine and compare parent preferences of before and after school physical activity program components in rural and suburban elementary schools. Methods: A discrete choice experiment was conducted to measure parent preferences for components of before/after school programs. A total of 183 parents (age = 37.2 [8.2] y, 155 females) sampled from 15 elementary schools (K–6 grades) in the Western United States took part in the study, half of which were from a rural community (n = 93, 50.8%). Results from the discrete choice experiment were analyzed using hierarchic Bayesian methodology, which estimated utility scores and was used to calculate important scores for program components. Results: The specific goal of the before/after school program was the strongest determinant of parents’ stated choice overall, followed by leaders, time of day, length, and main focus. Learning sports as the physical activity goal was the top-rated attribute. Subgroup analyses revealed discrepancies between suburban and rural parents and parents of boys and girls. Conclusion: This study extends the application of discrete choice experiments to school-based programming, providing a unique way to design empirically based, stakeholder informed school programs, specifically within before and after school settings.

Online Cleft Educational Videos: Parent Preferences

Objective: Determine what parents of children with cleft lip and palate value in online educational videos and evaluate whether their needs are currently being met. Design: Focus groups and telephone interviews were used to define parent information needs, followed by an evaluation of whether currently available YouTube videos meet these needs. Setting: British Columbia Children’s Hospital multidisciplinary cleft clinic. Participants: Twenty-four parents of children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate. Results: Parents desired videos that are accessible, trustworthy, relatable, and positive. Parents preferred a series of short videos addressing relevant topics as their child grows. Currently available YouTube videos only partially met these needs, with underrepresented topics including hearing, dentition, and surgeries for older children. Conclusions: While access and validity of video resources can be improved by directing patients and families to appropriate videos, some parent needs remain unmet.