Given the fact that one parent in the cartoon mask group and three parents of the children in the standard mask group refuse to fill in the questionnaire, 200 valid questionnaires are therefore collected.
2.1 General information
Table 1 displays the participants’ general information. Of the total of 200 parents, 125 (62.5%) participants are mothers, 43 (21.5%) are fathers, 13 (6.5%) are grandmothers, 13(3%) are grandfathers, and the remaining 6 (3%) are the others. With respect to the age distribution of their children, 22 children are between 0-1 year old, 39 are between 2-3 years old, 47 are between 4-6 years old, 70 are between 7-11 years old, and 22 are between 12-14 years old. Additionally, regarding the gender distribution of the pediatricians, nine doctors, or 90% of the doctors are female, while one doctor is male. There are no statistically significant differences between the cartoon mask group and the standard mask group.
Table 1 Sociodemographic information about parents and children
Group
|
Standard mask
(n=100)
|
Cartoon mask
(n=100)
|
X²
|
p
|
Parent’s age
|
|
|
0.507
|
0.917
|
20-29
|
11
|
14
|
|
|
30-39
|
43
|
42
|
|
|
40-49
|
32
|
30
|
|
|
Above 50
|
14
|
15
|
|
|
Relationship with child
|
|
|
0.987
|
0.912
|
Mother
|
62
|
63
|
|
|
Father
|
20
|
23
|
|
|
Grandmother
|
8
|
5
|
|
|
Grandfather
|
7
|
6
|
|
|
Others
|
3
|
3
|
|
|
Educational level
|
|
|
0.482
|
0.487
|
Below a bachelor’s degree
|
23
|
19
|
|
|
Above a bachelor’s degree (included)
|
77
|
81
|
|
|
Child’s age
|
|
|
2.926
|
0.403
|
0-3
|
25
|
36
|
|
|
4-6
|
26
|
21
|
|
|
7-11
|
37
|
33
|
|
|
12-14
|
12
|
10
|
|
|
2.2 The effect of mask type on the doctor-patient communication
The parents generally provide positive answers to the survey questions. As shown in table 2, they are fairly satisfied with the consultation. Specifically, within the cartoon mask group, the overall satisfaction rate amounts to 96%. However, within the standard mask group, this number decreases a bit to 89%. In the question “How was the doctor at showing care and compassion?” parents believe that wearing a cartoon mask is more likely to show sincerity (100 vs 88, p < 0.001). In the question “How was the doctor really listening?” Parents claim that wearing a cartoon mask shows that doctors are really listening to the description of the medical history of children (94 vs 84, p = 0.024).
In the additional question, “How was the doctor caring about children’s feelings?”, parents view that wearing a cartoon mask indicates doctors pay more attention to children (99 vs 85, p < 0.001). As to the remaining questions, we don’t identify any significant differences between the two groups. Besides, participants from the cartoon mask group tend to give more positive answers than those from the standard mask group.
Table 2 Analysis of parents’ satisfaction with pediatricians wearing different types of masks
Question
|
Cartoon mask n (%)
|
Standard mask
n (%)
|
P*
|
Fully understanding your concerns
|
97(97%)
|
94(94%)
|
0.306
|
Really listening
|
94(94%)
|
84(84%)
|
0.024
|
Making you feel at ease
|
95(95%)
|
90(90%)
|
0.179
|
Explaining things clearly
|
96(96%)
|
93(93%)
|
0.352
|
Showing care and compassion
|
100(100%)
|
88(88%)
|
<0.001
|
Making a plan of action with you
|
94(94%)
|
88(88%)
|
0.138
|
Spending enough time
|
94(94%)
|
87(87%)
|
0.091
|
Trusting in pediatricians’ decisions
|
98(98%)
|
93(93%)
|
0.08
|
Caring about children’s feelings
|
99(99%)
|
85(85%)
|
<0.001
|
*All P values were calculated using chi-square tests and deemed significant at less than 0.05.
2.4 Evaluations of different types of masks
When asked about parents’ opinions and suggestions for the masks used by pediatricians, 74.28% (n=52) of the population express positive evaluations of the cartoon masks. 20% (n=14) give neutral evaluations while 5.71% (n=4) are negative. In terms of standard masks, parents who are positive about them account for 28.57% (n=20) while the percentage is 57.14%(n=40) and 14.29%(n=10) for those who are neutral and negative respectively. Specifically, on the one hand, within the cartoon mask group, we record positive comments like “Cartoon masks can alleviate children’s fear of doctors and shorten the distance between them. So I think it’s helpful for doctors in the stomatology department to wear them.” Other positive comments include “I feel that the doctor is very affectionate for my child” and “Doctors are very friendly.” [table3]
Table 3 Analysis of parents’ impression on different types of masks
|
Standard mask
|
Cartoon mask
|
Z
|
P
|
comments
|
|
|
-5.154
|
<0.001
|
positive
|
20(28.57%)
|
52(74.28%)
|
|
|
neutral
|
40(57.14%)
|
14(20%)
|
|
|
negative
|
10(14.29%)
|
4(5.71%)
|
|
|
P value was calculated using Mann-Whitney U test and deemed significant at less than0.001.
2.5 Pediatrians’ opinions
When pediatricians (n=10, nine females and one male) are asked about the degree to which they will choose to wear cartoon masks, 40% of them select “very likely” or “partly likely” on the Likert scale (very likely n=2, partly likely n=2, partly unlikely n=5, completely unlikely n=1). We ask these pediatricians (n=10, nine females and one male) how likely would they wear cartoon masks in consultation in the future. Six of them express their unwillingness. For the underlying reasons, pediatricians signal that they are unaccustomed to cartoon masks (n=4) or cartoon masks may damage the image of doctors (n=2), while some pediatricians (n=6) point out that wearing two-layer masks can trigger a sense of discomfort.