Psychological health status of mothers and the admission of children to hospital for gastroenteritis.

The prevalence of psychological distress was measured by the 30-item general health questionnaire in two populations of mothers: those who had children hospitalized for gastroenteritis and those who cared for children with gastroenteritis at home. Significant differences emerged, with mothers of hospitalized children reporting higher levels of psychological distress. There were no differences in severity of the children's illness between the two groups as indicated by blind ratings of symptomatology from six infectious diseases hospital doctors. Thus hospitalization of children for gastroenteritis was not contingent on medical symptomatology. Instead the evidence indicates that the psychological status of mothers may influence doctors' management decisions on childhood gastroenteritis. Significant positive associations between poor psychological status and poor social resources illustrate the social context in which maternal vulnerability may influence child health care generally. The impact of maternal psychological status on decisions about paediatric care is discussed.