Health Education Counseling During Pediatric Well-Child Visits in Physicians’ Office Settings

Abstract

Objective. The current study assessed factors associated with health education counseling during well-child visits. Methods. Data from the 2007-2010 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) were used to examine well-child visits made to physicians’ offices in the United States. Logistic regression models examined the relationship between the provision of health education counseling and selected covariates. Health education provisions measured included injury prevention, nutrition, exercise, tobacco use, and weight reduction. Results. A total of 4837 well-child visits were identified during the study period, which is equivalent to a weighted estimate of 43.4 million well-child visits annually. Multivariate analyses indicated that the length of the well-child visit was the predominant factor associated with delivery of health education counseling. Conclusions. Provider education and counseling of patients concerning health behaviors were implemented at a low level. Time spent with the patient was associated with the majority of health education counseling. Implications for pediatric practice are discussed.