Missed Work Among Caregivers of Children With a High Body Mass Index: Child, Parent, and Household Characteristics.
Jiwoo Lee, Martha Y Kubik, Jayne A Fulkerson
PMID 31514567WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers missed work more often when their child visited a health provider two or more times in the past year or when parents rated the child's health as good, fair, or poor.
Child obesity status itself was not associated with missed work.
Key findings
01Parents whose child visited a health care provider two times or more in the past year were almost six times more likely to report a caregiver missing work.
02Parents who reported their child had good, fair, or poor health were three times more likely to report a caregiver missing work than those who rated health as very good or excellent.
03There was no difference in caregivers' missed work by child obesity status (obese versus non-obese).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot prove that these factors caused missed work. The sample size was small (123 dyads) and recruited via convenience sampling, limiting generalizability. Missed work was based on parent self-report over the past year, which may be subject to recall bias. The analysis excluded children with a BMI below the 75th percentile, so findings do not apply to the full range of child weights.
Declared interests
The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a child's obesity causes caregiver work absence. This study found no association between child obesity status and missed work; instead, frequent provider visits and poor parental health ratings were the significant factors.