Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32381063›Full record

ArticleBMC pediatrics2020

The difficulties experienced during the preparation and administration of oral drugs by parents at home: a cross-sectional study from Palestine.

Ra'fat Ali, Abdullah Shadeed, Hasan Fitian, Sa'ed H Zyoud

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pediatrics, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Ra'fat AliDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine.
Abdullah ShadeedDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine.
Hasan FitianDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine.
Sa'ed H ZyoudPoison Control and Drug Information Center (PCDIC), College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, 44839, Palestine. saedzyoud@yahoo.com.ORCID 0000-0002-7369-2058
An-Najah National University · PS

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFailure to properly administer drugs to children at home may cause adverse events, which makes it a challenging job for parents or caregivers. The main goal of this study was to investigate the problems and difficulties that parents or caregivers faced when administering oral drugs to their children at home.

methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire consisting of 'yes/no' and multiple-response questions to assess parents' experiences and problems with administering medication to their children at home. Data was collected from parents who visited primary health care centres in Nablus. Descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the characteristics of the sample.

resultsWe interviewed 420 parents. 91.9% of the parents used drugs without prescription from a doctor, and the most commonly used non-prescription medicines were antipyretics (n=386, 100%), influenza drugs (n=142, 36.8%), cough drugs (n=109, 28.2%) and antibiotics (n= 102, 26.4%). The study showed that 21.7% of parents used teaspoon and 7.1% used tablespoon in administering liquid medications to their children. When the children refused taking liquid medications, almost two-thirds of the parents (65.7%) insisted their children take them, 21.5% mixed it with juice, 5.2% mixed it with food and 4.7% mixed it with milk. 12.4% of the parents reported that they gave drugs in doses higher than prescribed by the doctor to treat their children more quickly. Also, our study revealed that 80.5% of the parents gave medications at incorrect intervals.

conclusionsThis study has shown that there is a proportion of caregivers or parents who administer oral drugs to their children incorrectly, which may involve giving them at the wrong intervals or doses, using incorrect instruments, or mixing them with food, juice or milk. The development of educational programs that will provide parents with education about medication administration is therefore recommended.

Indexed as

AntipyreticsPharmaceutical PreparationsChildCross-Sectional StudiesHumansParentsSurveys and QuestionnairesAntipyreticsPharmaceutical Preparationsadministrationchildrenoral medicationsparents

Identifiers

PMID32381063
PMCPMC7204026
OpenAlexW3023434292

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.