Parents' knowledge of the purposes and content of preparticipation physical examinations
D. P. Krowchuk, H. V. Krowchuk, D. M. Hunter, G. D. Zimet, D. Y. Rainey, D. F. Martin and W. W. Curl
Department of Pediatrics, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether parents of student athletes plan to use
the preparticipation physical examination (PPE) as their student athlete's
only annual health evaluation, to identify factors associated with this
decision, and to assess their knowledge about the objectives of PPEs and
more comprehensive examinations. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: General
community, school-sponsored PPEs. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of
parents or guardians of high school student athletes who obtained a
school-sponsored, multiple-station format PPE were surveyed by using an
anonymous paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Questionnaires were completed by
the parents of 381 of 763 student athletes who obtained PPEs (participation
rate, 49.9%). RESULTS: Thirty percent of the parents in this sample planned
to use the PPE as their student athlete's only contact with a health care
provider. Parents whose adolescent's health insurance provided for
comprehensive health assessments were more likely than those without this
benefit to plan a comprehensive care evaluation (75% vs 60%, respectively)
(P = .01 by chi 2 analysis). In addition to addressing problems that might
affect sports participation, parents thought that the PPE visit should
evaluate medical problems that are unrelated to athletics (34%), perform
health screening procedures (22%), assess social or behavioral issues
(16%), and provide immunizations (7%). CONCLUSIONS: Many parents plan to
use the PPE as their student athlete's only scheduled contact with a health
care provider; this decision may be influenced by factors that are related
to access to health care and misperceptions with regard to the mission of
these specialized examinations. For these adolescents, important medical,
social, and behavioral needs may not be met. Consideration should be given
to including elements of the PPE in health assessments that are performed
by individual clinicians or expanding the scope of large-group,
multiple-station format PPEs.
