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PATIENTS AT A PAEDIATRIC OUT‐PATIENT CLINIC A Study with Particular Reference to Psychological and Social Background Factors II. Earlier Contacts with the Health Service, Social Background, Parents' Morbidity, General Discussion and Recommendations
Author(s) -
JONSELL R.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1977.tb07980.x
Subject(s) - medicine , mental health , psychiatry , family medicine , pediatrics
. Psychological factors were considered by the examining physicians to play an important part in 5.2% of approximately 4000 initial visits to a paediatric clinic. These cases are compared with a matched control group representing the cases where the physicians judged that psychological factors were not involved. As compared with the controls, then a considerably larger proportion of the patients with symptoms associated with psychological factors had a previous history of contacts with child psychiatrists or attendence at the paediatric clinic for problems of a psychological nature. Their parents, the mothers in particular, had a higher frequency of registered sickness for mental‐nervous disorders and their families had more frequently been the subject of special social inquiries or assistance. To a large extent the examining paediatrician was unaware of these background conditions. With a better case history and proper follow‐up one could probably reduce the number of X‐ray examinations, consultations and laboratory tests. Further training and better contacts would be facilitated if members of a children's psychiatric team were stationed within the paediatric clinic