Understanding parent-pediatrician interactions for the design of health technologies
Julie A. Kientz · 2010
The Well Child Visit between a parent and a pediatrician is one of the fundamental means to ensure the healthy development of young children. In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative, formative study aiming to understand the nature of the interactions between parents and pediatricians and the structure of Well Child Visits. The purpose of the study is to inform the design of health technologies for parents and pediatric care. To understand this interaction, we observed 16 Well Child Visits with 8 families and 2 pediatricians over the course of 3 months, conducted interviews and a focus group with parents and pediatricians, and surveyed 43 parents. We discuss the fundamentals of the visits, including visit length and wait times, topics discussed, and the people involved. Our results show that parents and pediatricians perceive one another favorably, but there are still a number of tensions and inequalities which could be addressed by technology. We also provide a discussion of the major issues and design opportunities for interactive technology to improve pediatric care.