Ethnic Differences in Parents' Perception of Participatory Decision-Making Style of Their Children's Physicians

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to test whether there are ethnic differences in parents' perceptions of the participatory styles of their children's physicians, and to determine how Hispanic ethnicity influences the factors that are correlated with the perceptions of participatory styles. Study Design: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey in 111 counties of West Texas. Parents of children and adolescents 3 to 18 years of age (n = 3876) were included in analyses. Methods: The participatory decision-making (PDM) style of physicians was measured by a 3-item instrument used in the Medical Outcomes Study. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify ethnic differences and whether the effect of independent variables on participatory style varied by ethnicity. Results: The t test showed that the mean participatory decision-making score for Hispanics was significantly lower than that for non-Hispanic whites (P