Parental use of the Internet to seek health information and primary care utilisation for their child: a cross-sectional study

Table 3 Relation between number of primary care consultations for the child and population characteristics – multivariate analysis.

Explanatory variables		Adjusted Rate Ratio*	95% CI
Health information sources
Internet	No	1
	Yes	0.97	[0.86–1.09]
Relatives working in the medical sector	No	1
	Yes	1.08	[1.01–1.16]
Other relatives	No	1
	Yes	1.12	[1.01–1.25]
Characteristics of the child
Age	2–3 years old	1
	4 years	0.84	[0.73–0.96]
	5 years	0.77	[0.65–0.90]
	6 years	0.67	[0.56–0.80]
Medical conditions
Asthma	No	1
	Yes	1.28	[1.13–1.46]
Wearing of glasses	No	1
	Yes	1.19	[1.03–1.45]
Auditory disorders	No	1
	Yes	1.23	[1.03–1.46]
At least one surgical intervention	No	1
	Yes	1.12	[1.02–1.22]
Long term medication use	No	1
	Yes	1.26	[1.06–1.49]
Under homeopathic treatment	No	1
	Yes	1.13	[1.03–1.23]
Advice from a pharmacist within the last 12 months	No	1
	Yes	1.14	[1.05–1.24]
Parental characteristics
Occupation	Disadvantaged	1
	Moderately advantaged	0.85	[0.75–0.96]
	Advantaged	0.87	[0.75–1.02]
Annual family income	< 14 000 €	1
	14 000 to 19 999 €	0.86	[0.73–1.01]
	20 000 to 29 999 €	0.80	[0.68–0.94]
	30 000 to 39 999 €	0.87	[0.76–0.99]
	≥ 40 000 €	0.80	[0.64–0.99]
Parental stress level		1.03	[1.01–1.05]

* Adjusted on other health information sources (dictionary, press, books and television), characteristics of the child (birth order, gender, medical conditions – preterm infant, hospitalisation after birth, allergy, behavioral disorder – frequency of administrating over the counter drugs without medical advice) and parental characteristics (age, single parent, education level and place of residence).

ISSN: 1471-2458