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Going to the doctors: the views of mothers of children with recurrent abdominal pain
Author(s) -
Smart S.,
Cottrell D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00506.x
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , medicine , alliance , abdominal pain , presentation (obstetrics) , qualitative research , family medicine , psychology , social psychology , surgery , social science , sociology , political science , law
Objectives to explore how mothers of children with recurrent abdominal pain view seeking medical help on behalf of their children. Design qualitative interview study. Setting paediatric clinics and schools. Participants purposive sample of 28 mothers of children with recurrent abdominal pain. Main outcome measures Beliefs concerning recurrent abdominal pain, the respective roles of doctors and mothers and the nature and quality of interactions with doctors. Results Mothers of children with recurrent abdominal pain reported shaping the way they discussed the child's problem with doctors according to their beliefs about their own roles and the beliefs they perceived doctors to hold about recurrent abdominal pain. Where they were seeking help in managing the pain, they often felt undermined and threatened and responded to this by stressing the physical aspects of the child's presentation. Conclusions Doctors may need to acknowledge actively mothers’ competence in order to establish a therapeutic alliance.