Mi-Ae You
College of Nursing Ajou University, Suwon, South Korea
Title: Parents’ administration of medication to their children and the related educational needs of the parents
Biography
Biography: Mi-Ae You
Abstract
With regard to administering medication, parents sometimes mix up medicines or administer medication improperly due to complicated methods, and experience difficulties in administering the correct dosages. It is important to first determine how much parents know about administering medication. As mothers are primary caregivers, this study set out to assess how much mothers know about administering medication, and their related educational needs. Further, this study aimed to identify the factors that affect the administration of medication to children at home. Methodology: Five mothers who had administered medication to their preschool children at least once were randomly sampled as the study’s research subjects. The research data were collected through one-on-one in-depth interviews. Data analysis was conducted by analyzing the interview responses to some of the main questions, based on the notes taken in the interview. Conclusion & Significance: The caregiver who usually (most often) gave medication to the children was their mother, and every mother who participated in this research responded that she had administered fever reducers and antibiotics to her children. Some of them stated that they had been told how to administer medication by doctors or pharmacists, but had not been given information about side effects or precautions. They also responded that they sometimes stopped administering the prescribed medication to their child when his or her symptoms disappeared, and stored the remaining medication for possible future needs of the child’s siblings. They added that proper education on administering medication was needed for them to safely administer medicine to their children. The findings showed that the mothers who participated as research subjects in this study had different experiences of administering medication, and relevant education based on correct knowledge was needed for them to administer medication safely at home.