Mothers' Perceived Risks and Practices for Over Counter Medications of Children Under Five Years

Abstract

BackgroundOver the counter medications are drugs that are purchased without medical prescription. The use of these medications in children is usually initiated by parents. Using over counter medicine in developing countries found to be higher than in industrialized countries. Aim: Assess perceived risks and practices for over the counter medications among mothers of children under five years. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design. The study was conducted at Pediatric outpatient clinics of Tanta and Kafr-Elsheikh University Main Hospital. A convivence sample of 1000 mother of children under age 5 participated in the study. Tools: data was collected using three tools: Socio-demographic data questionnaire, Drug Use Health Belief Scale, and Over-the-Counter Medication Practices Questionnaire Results: the use of over the Counter medications was reported by all the participants in the study and 43.2% of mothers reported purchasing over the Counter for their children 3-4 times during this month. Most used medication were antipyretics to save the life of the child in cases of emergency (62.5%). 58.9% of the participants had unsatisfactory practice regarding over the counter medication use. A highly positive significant correlation (r=0.69 p=0.0001) was found between mothers' perceived risks and their reported practice. Conclusion: using over the Counter medications is common among the study participants and for different reasons. There is a over the counter medications. Recommendation: This research draw the attention to this serious problem. Strategies and educational program should be implemented to improve mothers' perception and practice about using over counter medications. Key words: (Over the counter medicine, under five aged children, Perceived benefits, Perceived barriers, Perceived risks, and self-efficacy).

Assessing the Effects of Medical Information on Parental Self-Medication Behaviors for Children’s Health: A Comparative Analysis

“…Regarding the mean level of perceived self-efficacy in another study, the main reason for using OTC medications, described by almost two-thirds of mothers, was to preserve their children's lives in emergencies. The most commonly used medications were antipyretics, for reducing the child's fever (91.9%) [36]. It was noted that caregivers with more children tend to self-medicate their children more compared to caregivers with their first child [37].…”

Effect of Coaching Program on Mothers’ Awareness regarding Administration of Over the Counter Drugs to their Children

“…Additionally, scarce knowledge of the toxicity of medications generates a considerable underestimation of the risks ( Healthcare providers including pediatric nurses need to provide current evidence based information to mothers regarding appropriate and safe medication used for their children. Nurses can play a good role in education of mothers about the proper use of OTC (Ads et al, 2023).…”