New research was presented at FMX 2020, the 2020 American Academy of Family Physicians virtual Family Medicine Experience, from October 13-17. The features below highlight some of the studies emerging from the conference.
Balancing parental and adolescent rights can put physicians in the challenging position of need to advocate for the patient’s inclusion in medical decision making, which can strain the parent-physician bond. With the concept that characterizing parent and adolescent perceptions of care and assent allows for the identification and targeting of areas of disagreement between them in order to help empower adolescents in their medical care, investigators surveyed children aged 12-17 and their parents. Among adolescents, 84% of adolescents agreed or strongly agreed they want to be involved in making decisions about their health, 76% agreed or strongly agreed they actually were involved in these decisions, and 81% agreed or strongly agreed they were informed enough to help make such decisions. Among parents, 89% agreed or strongly agreed that their child should have input into medical decisions affecting them, 33% agreed or strongly agreed that their child should have the final say about what happens to their body at the doctor’s office, 83% said they should have the final say, and 56% disagreed or strongly disagreed that their child was prepared to make medical decisions alone.
