Parents, you may have an opportunity to share more during your child’s next well visit.
St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence pediatrics office began implementing a new program this summer to better address kids’ emotional, behavioral and developmental needs.
The program, called Good for Growth, is based upon the practice of “promoting first relationships” and targets kids birth through age three. Although it’s designed for younger children, it will be used as a model for older children, as well.
“It’s a different approach to well-child visits that requires additional training for physicians,” said Dr. John La Count, a pediatrician with St. Elizabeth Physicians’ Florence office. “Instead of asking questions that are going to yield a one-word or one-sentence response, we’re now asking questions that are open and without a specific structure to let parents direct what their concerns are. The observation of behavior and interactions becomes integral to the examination.”
How does the program work?
The program seeks to develop a sense of improving parental competence through the use of reflective and supportive statements directed by the physician, La Count said. Typically, most parents have something on their minds during well-child visits but don’t necessarily bring it to the forefront. Rather than telling doctors what they’re concerned about, parents tend to let doctors lead the interview.
The new Good for Growth model lets doctors spend more time with patients and their parents to delve deeper into issues.
“The concern people have had is that emotional growth and developmental growth are very much going to be affected by toxic environments or toxic emotional issues,” La Count said. “Parents who haven’t dealt with their child’s temper tantrums, for example, come in when their child is five and only then tell us they’re having issues. If we deal with those issues when the child is younger, we’ll not only help parents with their stresses, but we’ll help kids better deal with things that come up environmentally and emotionally.”
Helping parents share what’s happening
Under the Good for Growth program, La Count and his fellow pediatricians now are asking parents questions such as:
- What are you seeing your child doing that is new?
- How are mealtimes going?
- What is your child’s favorite toy? How do they use it?
- What books do you read to your child?
- How difficult is it to feed your child?
- How is mom sleeping?
“For example, if the mom is sleeping OK, then the child is probably sleeping well, too,” La Count said. “This flips the traditional model on its head. Rather than simply asking how a child is sleeping, we also attempt to assure the caregiver’s health and well-being. This way, we can tell if there are other underlying problems and get an idea of potential stressors to the child’s personality.”
If the parent responds that her child’s cries are irritating her, for instance, doctors now will ask why she’s finding it irritating, or, if there are issues with feeding, why she feels these issues are arising.
So far, the feedback on the program has been very positive.
“Families seem to like this approach we’re taking,” La Count said. “We’re trying to do something new that helps the kids and families in our practice.”
If the program continues to be successful, La Count said he hopes it will be adopted as the standard of care for kids seen by St. Elizabeth pediatricians.
