The reasons underlying parents' decisions to seek medical evaluations for their mildly ill children are not well understood. This cross-sectional study tracked parents' requests for on-site medical evaluations at a sick child care program. A logistic regression model identified factors associated with parents' decisions to seek medical evaluations for their children based on the data from parent-completed questionnaires. A convenience sample of 196 parents completed all questionnaires; 62 (31.6%) parents sought medical evaluations. Parents were more likely to seek medical evaluations if they were concerned about missing work (odds ratio = 8.6; 95% confidence interval, 3.3-22.0; P = .0001), if they smoked (odds ratio = 3.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-12.4; P = .037), or if their spouse's highest educational attainment was some high school (odds ratio = 0.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.1-1.0; P = .044). The data highlight the problems working parents have in accessing health care during usual working hours and the potential value of convenient health care programs.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0009922807308254DOI Listing

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