Do staff working with families in community child health hold different perceptions than their counterparts in acute settings?

Background: Although staff in acute paediatrics feel more positive working with children than with parents, it was anticipated that community child health staff may hold different perceptions because their family partnerships model of care claims to be family-centred. Methods: Nurses, doctors and allied health staff (n=48) working in community child health in regional Australia completed the 'Working with Families' questionnaire. The questionnaire, used previously in acute care settings in several countries, comprises 10 semantic differential statements to each statement: "I find working with children…" and "I find working with parents…".Results: There were no significant relationships between demographic variables and the mean 'working with children' and 'working with parents' scores. However, there was a difference between the mean scores (1 lowest - 5 highest): working with children: 4.29, (CI 4.06, 4.51); with parents 3.9 (CI 3.68, 4.12), mean difference -0.39 (CI-0.54, 0.23; p<0.001). Conclusion: Community child health staff, similar to staff in acute paediatric settings, felt more positive about working with children. However, if family-centred care was effectively implemented no such difference should occur. Staff in community child health require support and education about family-centred care. This is the first use of the Working with Families questionnaire in a community setting but it needs replication with a larger sample.