The pediatrician's waiting room: a place for health education?

Objectives. - To assess the presence and impact of health education messages in pediatricians' waiting rooms. Methods.- In September 2001, 81 pediatricians completed a questionnaire about the furnishings and equipment in their waiting rooms. They also distributed a questionnaire about waiting room health education messages to parents, to be completed at home. Results. - The analysis considered 1830 questionnaires. Health education messages were posted in 91% of the waiting rooms and most frequently concerned children's accidents, vaccines, hygiene and nutrition. The best topics that the parents remembered involved child neglect, antibiotic therapy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and nutrition. Although memorization of the messages was not influenced by duration of the wait, it was higher among parents who had previously visited the pediatrician. These messages led 14% of the parents to discuss them spontaneously with their pediatrician. Conclusion. - Health education messages are posted in nearly all the waiting rooms studied; parents remember them in a variable and rather inexplicable order. Posting these messages demonstrates the pediatricians' willingness to be involved - beyond the simple consultation - in the health education of children and families. Identifying the real impact of these messages would require further study. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. Tous droits reserves.