Table 2.

. Qualitative Studies Involving Perceptions of Care and Satisfaction in Pediatric Obesity

Author	Site/N	Demographics	Objectives	Design	Satisfaction-related Results
Edmunds (2005)	United Kingdom	Parents of children ages 4–15 years with concerns of child's weight	Explore parent perceptions of help-seeking with health professionals	Semi-structured interviews	Parent responses yielded four themes: pediatricians were helpful, did not know how to help, dismissed parent concerns, treated the parent/child negatively
	N =40 parents
Stewart et al. (2008a)	Scotland	Parents of children 6–11 years attending outpatient obesity treatment program	Investigate parent perceptions of participating in a pediatric obesity treatment program	Semi-structured interviews of parents 12 months after start of treatment	During treatment, parents consistently expressed need for support from someone outside the home for motivation
	N = 17 parents	Child:			At end of treatment, parents viewed child self-esteem as most important outcome; expressed both positive and negative concerns regardless of child's weight change
		Mean age 8.4 yrs			During follow-up period without treatment, parents felt there was a lack of support for lifestyle change at home
		Mean BMI >98th percentile for age and gender
Stewart et al. (2008b)	Scotland	Parents of children 6–11 years attending outpatient obesity treatment program	Explore the thoughts and feelings of parents participating in one of two dietetic counseling programs for their obese child (behavior change program vs. standard care)	Semi-structured interviews of parents 12 months after start of treatment	Developing rapport between clinician and family important for perception of positive experience
	N = 17 parents	Child: mean age 8.4 years			Patient-centered behavior change program: parents perceived goal-setting and self-monitoring techniques positively; felt they were able to oversee child's goals with encouragement; perceived process as “child-friendly”
		Female 53%			Standard care: parents did not feel they received targets for change from care provider; could not recall being asked to self-monitor lifestyle habits
		Mean BMI >98th percentile for age and gender			Parents in this group appeared to have dictatorial parenting roles
Styles, Meier, Sutherland, & Campbell (2007)	Eastern and Central North Carolina	White 17%	Identify culturally specific child weight-management concerns, the behavioral intervention needs of caregivers, and their preferences for intervention	Focus group series	Parents reported families faced many challenges in maintaining healthy weight; time, time management, and conflicting priorities identified as barriers
	N = 54 parents of overweight children 5–8 years old	Black 54%		Semi-structured interviews	Parents felt they lacked knowledge, skills, and support for controlling their child's weight; did not feel that community institutions effectively supported efforts to be healthy
		Hispanic 30%
		Mothers 68%
		Grandmothers 16%
		High school education or above 44%

Note. BMI, body mass index.