Understanding of Information about Medicines Use among Parents of Pre-School Children in Serbia

Parental Pharmacotherapy Literacy Questionnaire (PTHL-SR)

Bibliographic Data

ID15462002
AuthorsStana Ubavić (Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services), Nataša Bogavac‐Stanojević (0000-0001-7004-4701, University of Belgrade), Nataša Bogavac-Stanojević (University of Belgrade), Aleksandra Jović-Vraneš (0000-0002-9023-4024, University of Belgrade), Dušanka Krajnović (0000-0003-1699-7944, University of Belgrade, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume15
Issue5
Pages977-977
Publication date2018-05-14
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
PublisherMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph15050977
PMID29757928
OpenAlexW2802224126
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited24

Parental health literacy plays an important role in children’s health, Experiences from pharmacy practice show that is necessary to check if parents understand instructions about use of medicines for children. This study aimed to assess pharmacotherapy literacy of parents of pre-school children and to examine association of parental pharmacotherapy literacy level with parent’s socio-demographic characteristics. The study was cross-sectional, conducted among parents of pre-school children (1−7 years of age), in kindergartens in several municipalities of Belgrade, Serbia, during regular parents meetings, from May to October 2016. Functional health literacy was measured by the Serbian version of the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA). Parental pharmacotherapy literacy was assessed with newly constructed PTHL-SR questionnaire with good psychometric characteristics (Parental pharmacotherapy literacy questionnaire—Serbian). Overall, 813 parents participated in the study, mostly females (81.30%), between 30 to 40 years of age (70.85%) with two children (56.70%). Almost all of our study participants (99%) had adequate health literacy as assessed by S-TOFHLA. Mean score on PTHL-SR was 72.83% (standard deviation was 13.37), with better results among females than males (72% of women were in the group of highest PTHL-SR results). Our study showed that many parents (76.5%) knew the appropriate usage of non-prescription medicine for children, 57.2% parents were able to correctly calculate the dose of oral syrup for a child, and only 43.3% were able to interpret non-prescription dosage information written on the package. The majority of parents (61.3%) would make a dosage to child based on age and not on their weight. Every fifth parent with adequate functional health literacy measured by S-TOFHLA test, achieved the lowest results measured by PTHL-SR. Higher performance of the PTHL-SR was significantly correlated with education ( p p p p p p < 0.05). These results provide evidence that limitations in understanding common information about use of medicines are widespread among parents of pre-school children and encourage efforts for further investigation. PTHL-SR questionnaire may be a useful tool for identification of parents who need more instructions and assistance from healthcare providers, above all in providing better communication, written or spoken at community pharmacy settings

Family medicine · Health care · Health literacy · Literacy · Medical prescription · Pharmacotherapy · Psychiatry · Serbian · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing · Psychology · Pediatrics · Pharmacy

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