Parents' Medication Administration Errors

Yin, H. Shonna; Mendelsohn, Alan L.; Wolf, Michael S.; Parker, Ruth M.; Fierman, Arthur H.; Schaick, Linda van; Bazán, Isabel; Kline, Matthew D.; Dreyer, Benard P.

doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.269

Cited by 216 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…[7,9,18]. Pictograms have previously been found to help improve parent medication knowledge and adherence (33,34).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Lee et al, [21], low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. Low health literacy has been associated with difficulty interpreting medication labels as well as dosing errors [9,22]. Those from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are more likely to have low health literacy and are at particular risk for errors [23].…”

Section: Health Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dosing errors by parents were highly prevalent with cups compared with droppers, spoons, or syringes. Strategies to reduce errors should address both accurate use of dosing instruments and health literacy [9]. Thus, interventions are needed to decrease medication errors and improve patient safety through safe medication practices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Pictogram-Based Intervention to Reduce Parental Liquid Medication Errors: Health Literacy Approach

Tork¹

2013

AJNS

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Evidence suggests that parents and caregivers make frequent errors when administering liquid medications to children. These errors, which include inaccurate dosing as well as non-adherence to medication regimens, place children at risk for morbidity and mortality. The study aim to explore the effectiveness of pictogram based intervention in reducing caregivers' liquid medication errors as well as the extent to which health literacy impacts medication errors. Quasi-experimental study of caregivers (n=250) of young children (<6 years) enrolled at primary pediatric clinic in Zagazig University hospital. A total of 250 caregivers (121 standard medication counseling and 129 pictogram based intervention) were assessed for health literacy by means of the Newest Vital Sign measure; 84.4%% had low health literacy (Newest Vital Sign score 0-3). Pictogram based intervention recipients were less likely to make errors in knowledge related to medication storage (26.6% vs. 63.3%) dose frequency (20.2% vs. 25%), and preparation compared with caregivers of standard medication counseling recipients (12.8% vs. 31.7%). Pictogram was an efficient way to reduce the prevalence of caregivers' liquid medication errors.

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“…[7,9,18]. Pictograms have previously been found to help improve parent medication knowledge and adherence (33,34).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Health Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Pictogram-Based Intervention to Reduce Parental Liquid Medication Errors: Health Literacy Approach

Tork¹

2013

AJNS

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“…13; Immigrant mothers are the main caregivers and administer medications to their children. However, the limited literacy proficiency and limited knowledge of medications of immigrant mothers are perceived to be obstacles to appropriate medication administration (Yin et al, 2010;Väänänen et al, 2008;Chang et al, 2011;Wilson, Chen, Grumback, Wang, & Fernandez, 2005;DeWalt, Drilling, Rosenthal, & Pignone, 2007). Making medication information easier to read and understand, such as bilingual instructions on medication packaging, as well as using pictograms and less medical jargon, would be beneficial to enhancing medication knowledge (Chang et al, 2011;Yin et al, 2008).…”

Section: Impact Of Accessibility Of Medical Resources On Medication Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If we want to improve pediatric medication safety at home, one of the most important things needed is to enhance the medication knowledge of the parents or main caregivers (Hughes & Edgerton, 2005). Culture and language barriers are thought to influence medication use and dosing accuracy among immigrants (Håkonsen & Toverud, 2012;Lo, Sharif, & Ozuah, 2006;Watt et al, 2012;Yin et al, 2010). Limited literacy proficiency and low social-economic status were the main reasons for medication errors in these populations (Chang, Chen, Chang, & Smith, 2011;Håkonsen & Toverud, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immigrant Mothers’ Knowledge of Medication Safety and Administration for Young Children

Huang¹,

Yeh²

2015

ASS

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The goals of this paper are to compare immigrant (Southeast Asian and Chinese) and non-immigrant (Taiwanese) mothers' knowledge of medication safety and administration for children, and to reveal how the accessibility of medical resources could affect immigrant mothers' medication administration. The medication knowledge and communication ability of immigrants are suggested to be insufficient, which could be the main reason for medication errors. When medical resources can be accessed easily, immigrant mothers' medication errors may be reduced. A survey with stratified sampling was used. Data were gathered from 643 participants with young children in Taiwan. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used to solicit participants' responses concerning medication preservation and medication administration. Southeast Asian mothers need the help of doctors or family members; they frequently administer suppositories to febrile children, store children's medication in the fridge, and pay less attention to the expiry date. Chinese immigrant mothers tend to let children take Chinese medicine, give previously prescribed drugs to sick children, give other children's medication to sick children, and buy medicines at a pharmacy without a doctor's prescription. When the participants spend more than 31 minutes travelling to the nearest clinic, they are more likely to misuse medication, such as giving previously prescribed drugs to a sick child, and combining medication with Chinese medicine. The findings of this study suggest that the medication knowledge and administration habits of immigrant and non-immigrant mothers differ. The parents of young children take sick children to seek proper medical treatment when they are able to easily access medical resources.

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Evaluation of Consistency in Dosing Directions and Measuring Devices for Pediatric Nonprescription Liquid Medications

Yin

Wolf

Dreyer

et al. 2010

JAMA

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Context In response to reports of unintentional drug overdoses among children given over-the-counter (OTC) liquid medications, in November 2009 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new voluntary industry guidelines that recommend greater consistency and clarity in OTC medication dosing directions and their accompanying measuring devices. Objective To determine the prevalence of inconsistent dosing directions and measuring devices among popular pediatric OTC medications at the time the FDA's guidance was released. Design and Setting Descriptive study of 200 top-selling pediatric oral liquid OTC medications during the 52 weeks ending October 30, 2009. Sample represents 99% of the US market of analgesic, cough/cold, allergy, and gastrointestinal OTC oral liquid products with dosing information for children younger than 12 years. Main Outcome Measures Inclusion of measuring device, within-product inconsistency between dosing directions on the bottle's label and dose markings on enclosed measuring device, across-product use of nonstandard units and abbreviations, and presence of abbreviation definitions. Results Measuring devices were packaged with 148 of 200 products (74.0%). Within this subset of 148 products, inconsistencies between the medication's dosing directions and markings on the device were found in 146 cases (98.6%). These included missing markings (n=36, 24.3%) and superfluous markings (n=120, 81.1%). Across all products, 11 (5.5%) used atypical units of measurement (eg, drams, cc) for doses listed. Milliliter, teaspoon, and tablespoon units were used for doses in 143 (71.5%), 155 (77.5%), and 37 (18.5%) products, respectively. A nonstandard abbreviation for milliliter (not mL) was used by 97 products. Of the products that included an abbreviation, 163 did not define at least 1 abbreviation. Conclusion At the time the FDA released its new guidance, top-selling pediatric OTC liquid medications contained highly variable and inconsistent dosing directions and measuring devices.

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Parents' Medication Administration Errors

Abstract: Objectives: To assess parents' liquid medication administration errors by dosing instrument type and to examine the degree to which parents' health literacy influences dosing accuracy.

Cited by 216 publications

References 19 publications

A Pictogram-Based Intervention to Reduce Parental Liquid Medication Errors: Health Literacy Approach

A Pictogram-Based Intervention to Reduce Parental Liquid Medication Errors: Health Literacy Approach

Immigrant Mothers’ Knowledge of Medication Safety and Administration for Young Children

Evaluation of Consistency in Dosing Directions and Measuring Devices for Pediatric Nonprescription Liquid Medications

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