Papers on paediatric triadic consultations in settings outside primary care.
| Author, setting and country | Type of study | Children's involvement in consultations |
|---|---|---|
| Freemon et al26 Emergency children's hospital clinic, US | Quantitative descriptive study of 285 audiotaped consultations | Doctor–child communication was 12.5% of the total interaction units |
| Tannen and Wallat27,28 Child development centre/US | A series of qualitative analyses of a doctor examining Jody aged 9, in the presence of her mother | Jody's contribution is social, laughter and play Mother's questioning interrupts the examination |
| Aronsson and Rundstrom29 Allergy outpatient's clinic/Sweden | Quantitative study of 30 audiotaped consultations | The child has 8% of total discourse space. The parent has ultimate control, which doctors assist in enhancing. Doctors have control of the turn taking |
| Aronsson and Rundstrom30 Allergy outpatient's clinic, Sweden | Qualitative analysis 30 consultations audiotaped | Children spoken to in a direct or joking way by the doctors, at times to convey a message to parents |
| Van Dulmen31 Paediatric outpatients clinic/The Netherlands | Quantitative observational study, 302 consecutive videotaped consultations | Child's contribution was 4% of total utterance count. This increases with age of child and is at the expense of the parents |
| Tates and Meeuwesen (2001)32 | A review of literature on doctor–parent–child observational communication studies. | Most studies were doctor–parent dyads, not triadic. Children involved little in medical consultations |
| Runeson et al33 Paediatric hospital ward, Sweden. | Qualitative study of 140 critical incidents reported in paediatric triadic encounters | Children's protests were often ignored |
| Stivers34 Paediatric outpatients, US | Qualitative study of 291 videotaped consultations | Children said very little. Children regularly did not end up presenting the problem, even when invited to |
| Young et al35 Oncology clinic, UK | Qualitative study of 13 interviews with children and their parents | Parents described acting in an executive-like capacity with some children saying that they felt marginalised |
| Wassmer et al36 Paediatric outpatients, UK | Quantitative study of 51 audio-recorded consultations | Child's contribution to the conversation was 4.2%. The longer the child's contribution, the shorter the parent's was. Older children talked more than younger children |
| Van Dulmen37 Paediatric clinic/The Netherlands | Quantitative study analyses 846 videotapes of consultations | Children had very little say. They answered questions on medical information. Paediatricians talked to the child or the parent. No evidence of real multiparty talk. Older children were treated in a more child-centred way |
| Nova et al38 Paediatric clinic, Italy | Qualitative analysis of 10 videotaped consultation Content and discourse analysis | Quantitatively limited child contribution to the consultation |