Parental perception of medications safe storage in the State of Qatar

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify parental perception of household medication storage. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study utilizing a questionnaire was carried out at Hamad Medical Corporation, the solely tertiary pediatric hospital in the State of Qatar at the time of the study. Qatar is a young developing country with limited data on the awareness of medication storage among adults with children at home and on the safety practices regarding medication storage. Results: Three hundred and five questionnaires were completed. The vast majority of parents were married, one-third of them were males, and more than three quarters were college graduates and younger than 40 years of age. Almost 80% of the parents had more than three children but less than seven. In addition, 23% of participants were health-care workers. Almost 90% of the participants stored medications in a place that is easy to reach. However, the same percentage stated that those medications were stored in a locked place and that children did not have access to them. Approximately 10% of caregivers store multiple medications in one bottle, and the same percentage of participants do not check the expiration date on the medication labels. In terms of the most common medications stored at home, antihypertensives were on top of the list. Our study has shown that parental education and being a health-care worker were each associated with the difficulty in reaching medications ( P = 0.006 and P = 0.011, respectively). Moreover, the percentage of participants who shared medications was significantly higher among those who were not working in the health-care section compared to those who were ( P = 0.004). In addition, being a female parent and a college graduate was associated with the possibility of keeping excess or leftover medications at home ( P = 0.025). Conclusion: Parents residing in the State of Qatar have some deficiencies in knowledge about medication storage. Parent's attitudes and perceptions are deemed vital objectives for population's health intervention.

Prevalent Parental Practice Toward Drug Storage and Disposal

“…Most of the mothers stored medication in the fridge and at a level above adults' eyes (at reach). These findings were concordant with Hendaus M et al's study [ 13 ], which found that 57.4% of parents stored medications at home and 90% of the parents kept their prescriptions in easily accessible locations. Ten percent of caregivers keep several prescriptions in one container, and the same proportion of participants do not check the labels for expiration dates.…”

“…Enormous storage of medication can be attributed to several factors, including excessive physician prescription, excessive purchasing, and nonadherence to treatment. In addition, there was a significant relationship between the number of medications stored in households and factors such as insurance coverage, chronic illnesses (such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer), siblings not working in health-related jobs, higher economic status, and literacy of the father and parents who have children less than six years old [10][11][12][13].…”