Shared Decision-Making in Children's Health: The Role of Foster Parents

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Abstract

Shared decision-making plays an important role in any patient-provider interaction, but it becomes more complex in considering health care for children and how parents take part in decisions made for their children. Building on past literature that shows differing groups to have varying experiences in participating in shared decision-making, this study considers the role of foster parents. Acknowledging the training and resources often available to foster parents, this paper raises the question of whether they participate in shared health care decision-making for their children at higher rates.

Employing multinomial regression to analyze data from the 2016/2017 National Survey of Children’s Health, the analysis finds foster parents to report higher levels of shared decision-making than the sample overall. Other findings support previous research noting that populations such as minority groups, non-native English speakers, and those with fewer resources (such as no insurance or relying on public insurance) report less shared decision-making. For providers or public health efforts seeking to encourage and equip community members to engage in shared decision-making with their practitioners, it may be worthwhile to consider the training and team-based approaches foster parents are exposed to.

Author

• Cory Cronin, Ohio University