The use of prescription medicines and self‐medication among children—a population‐based study in Finland

Ylinen, Sanna; Hämeen‐Anttila, Katri; Sepponen, Kati; Lindblad, Åsa Kettis; Ahonen, Riitta

doi:10.1002/pds.1963

Cited by 46 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The final study sample was representative in age and gender of children less than 12 years old living in Finland [29]. The regional distribution of the children differed slightly from that of the target population: Southern region, 40.7% (the actual proportion of the children in that area is 41.1%); Western, 32.6% (34.9%); Eastern, 12.8% (9.9%); Oulu region, 10.1% (10.4%); Lapland, 3.4% (3.3%); and Å land 0.5% (0.5%).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

et al. 2011

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

et al. 2011

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“…1 In many highly developed countries, self-medication for children and adolescents in case of pain and other minor ailments has increased within the past decades. 5,6 The reasons for this development are still unclear. A recent US survey showed that in 1 week, twice as many children aged 0 to 11 years received OTC drugs as prescription medications.…”

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confidence: 99%

Association of Maternal Self-Medication and Over-the-Counter Analgesics for Children

et al. 2014

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OBJECTIVE: Self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics, such as paracetamol (PCM), among children and adolescents is increasing and constitutes an important public health issue internationally. Reasons for this development are unclear; parental influence is suggested. Our objective was to examine whether self-medication with OTC analgesics among school-aged children is influenced by maternal self-reported health and medicine use, taking the child’s frequency of pain into account. METHODS: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted on 131 children aged 6 to 11 years and their mothers in the framework of the Demonstration Of A Study To Coordinate And Perform Human Biomonitoring On A European Scale (DEMOCOPHES) European project. Participants were selected from 1 urban and 1 rural area of Denmark, and equally distributed in age and gender. Data were collected through structured interviews with all children and self-report questionnaires for mothers regarding health, pain, and medicine use. RESULTS: After adjusting for several sociodemographic and health parameters, maternal use of OTC analgesics was significantly associated with self-medication with OTC analgesics, particularly PCM, in our population of schoolchildren, even when the child’s pain was adjusted for (odds ratio 3.00, P = .008). A clear association between child pain and OTC analgesic use was not found. Additionally, maternal health (self-rated health, chronic pain, chronic disease, daily medicine intake) did not significantly influence child use of OTC analgesics. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal self-medication with OTC analgesics is associated with self-medication of OTC analgesics, predominantly PCM, among school-aged children, perhaps more than the child’s pain. Maternal health seems of less importance. Information to parents about pain self-management is important to promote appropriate PCM use among schoolchildren.

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“…Students' perspectives on medicines and their use, was similar to that seen in previous studies in Finland [26,27,30]. Fourth graders' perspectives included the view that as well as the benefits, medication always includes risks such as the side effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“…In the initial discussions, students pondered that reliable information could be acquired from doctors, from a hospital and from a pharmacy, as has been found in previous studies [23,34,35,38,39]. Unlike previous studies [23,26,34,35,38] fourth graders did not point out the role of parents, teachers or patient inserts as being an information source. During the group discussions after intervention, they mentioned packages and labels, showing an understanding of the rational use of medicines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

An Internet-Based Medicine Education Intervention: Fourth Graders’ Perspectives

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Health education, which also includes medicine education, promotes social sustainability in society. Through the context of Internet-based intervention, this study reports on fourth graders' (N = 51, aged 10-11 years) perspectives on medicines, their use with common diseases and medicine-related information sources. The study was qualitative by nature. Data was collected in spring 2010, by audio recording students' group discussions during the study process and group interviews. After intervention, students were well aware of the proper use of medicines and how to find information both on medicines and health issues. The main challenge was finding websites that provide reliable and confidential information. The results of this study raise awareness of a concrete pedagogical approach to health education. The pedagogical approach conducted in the intervention could, to some extent, be transferred to any school setting. This study underlies the promotion of Internet-based health literacy and criteria, for evaluating online health information in the primary school context.

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The use of prescription medicines and self‐medication among children—a population‐based study in Finland

Cited by 46 publications

References 36 publications

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

Association of Maternal Self-Medication and Over-the-Counter Analgesics for Children

An Internet-Based Medicine Education Intervention: Fourth Graders’ Perspectives

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