Abstract
Introduction: Dosing errors by caregivers are common and often are directly attributed to poorly designed instructions. The purpose of this study was to assess whether instruction wording-that is, implicit versus explicit dosage intervals-was associated with participants' ability to describe and correctly measure a dose of a commonly prescribed liquid pediatric prescription medication. Methods: English-speaking women (N = 193) of child-bearing age were recruited to participate in this study from an outpatient residency clinic in the southeastern United States. Based on a priori randomization, each participant was presented with one of two medication bottles that were identical except for the instructions: (1) "SHAKE LIQUID WELL AND GIVE (CHILD'S NAME) 6 ML BY MOUTH EVERY 12 HOURS" (" implicit" dosage interval)," or (2) "SHAKE LIQUID WELL AND GIVE (CHILD'S NAME) 6 ML BY MOUTH AT 7 AM AND 7 PM" (" explicit" dosage interval). Participants completed a structured interview to assess sociodemographic characteristics, health literacy skills, ability to describe and demonstrate the dosage of the liquid medication, and preferences for label format. Results: Seventy-two participants (37.3%) were able to correctly describe how they would give the medicine to a child during a 24-hour period, while 145 women (75.1%) were able to correctly demonstrate how they would give one dose of the medication. Approximately one third of participants (32.1%) were able to correctly describe and measure a dose of the medication. Slightly more than half of participants (n = 103, 53.4%) indicated that they would prefer instructions with "explicit" dosage intervals. Discussion: This study suggests that few people can accurately describe how liquid medications are to be administered, while more people can demonstrate the correct dose to be administered.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 443-450 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Pediatric Health Care |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2012 |
Keywords
- Literacy
- Medication use
- Patient comprehension
- Pediatrics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health