How well can children understand medicine related topics?

doi:10.1016/j.pec.2004.12.011

Patient Education and Counseling

Volume 60, Issue 2, February 2006, Pages 171-178

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2004.12.011 Get rights and content

Abstract

The aim of this study was to discover how well children understand medicine related topics and in this way to evaluate their preparedness for two-way communication about these matters. The data were collected by conducting 14 focus group discussions (FGDs) among Finnish schoolchildren aged 7–8, 10–11 and 13–14 years. The main theme during the FGDs was the management of diseases with medicines. Both inductive and deductive analyses were used to analyse the data [Patton M. Qualitative evaluation and research methods. 2nd ed. Newbury Park: Sage Publications; 1990].

Children had superficial knowledge of and a negative attitude towards medicine use. They used medicine related vocabulary uncertainly implying that they do not fully comprehend all the information that they have gained. Children realized that there may be risks when using medicines and this understanding tended to increase by age.

The results of this study indicate a need to educate children about medicines. In addition to school-based medicine education, health care professionals should communicate directly with children about their medicines at an appropriate cognitive level in order to increase their understanding and skills concerning health issues.

Introduction

Although children are users and potential users of medicines [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], little is known about their preparedness for two-way communication about medicine related health matters. However, such information is important when designing and implementing health education programs for children. Such information is also needed to support children in developing skills that improve their health literacy [9] and increase their involvement in their own medicine use.

Few studies have been done to explore children's knowledge [7], [10], [11] and attitudes [11], [12], [13] towards medicines. These studies show that e.g., factors associated with medicine efficacy are confusing for children [10], [11]. Children may believe that size, taste, or colour of the pill are related to the efficacy of medicine, or that cheap medicine and medicine bought in a store are not so effective than other medicines [10], [11]. Furthermore, children have little idea how medicines work, and the explanations that children give are quite superficial, e.g., that medicine just cures the disease [11], [14]. Studies in four countries have found that understanding how medicines work increases with age, and that children rarely acknowledge the preventive value of medicines [11], [15].

Children realize the possibility that medicines can cause harmful effects [7], [11], [12], [15]. Older children are more likely to say that not all medicines are good and that medicines can cause side-effects indicating that the perception of risk appears during cognitive development [11], [12]. Children perceive that the harmful effects result from taking the wrong medicine, e.g., medicine belonging to somebody else [11]. In some studies children have reported fear of using medicines [11], [15].

The results of these studies evaluating children's knowledge and attitudes towards medicines imply a need for systematic medicine education for children. In Finland, medicine education is implemented as an obligatory part of school health education in 2003–2006. Furthermore, the importance of educating children about medicines has been noted in a national policy on medicines for 2003–2010 by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The policy states that educating children is one of the means of increasing rational use of medicines among the population.

The present study is a part of a larger project aimed at creating recommendations on what to teach children of different ages about medicines during school health education. The results presented in this article describe the baseline evaluation of children's understanding of medicine related topics. The aim of this study was to discover how well children understand medicine related topics and in this way to evaluate their preparedness for two-way communication about these matters.

Section snippets

Method

The data were collected by conducting 14 focus group discussions (FGDs) among children. The FGD method was selected for this study in order to hear the children's own voices when talking about medicines and health matters, and to discover what kind of experiences, understanding, and attitudes children have concerning disease management with medicines. Since children's knowledge and understanding of medicines is still quite an unexplored subject a qualitative approach was chosen. Group

Children's illness experiences

Even though they were not asked to report their own illness episodes, all but 8 of 81 children reported some. Common illnesses and symptoms children had experienced in every age group were headache, fever, cough, cold (stuffy nose), allergy, and eye and ear infections. Five children reported having asthma and one epilepsy. One 13-year-old girl said that she had had arthritis when she was young.

Children had used different kinds of medicines. Most commonly used medicines were nose sprays, pain

Discussion

This study shows that children as young as 7 years have already constructed attitudes towards medicines. In fact, it has been argued that children's health related beliefs and behaviours are relatively stable by the time they are in third- and fourth-grades (9–10 years) [22]. Furthermore, children's attitudes in this study were generally negative. A similar pattern has been shown in other studies [11], [13], [15], [23]. However, in some studies children have viewed medicines quite positively

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How well can children understand medicine related topics?

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Method

Children's illness experiences

Discussion

Soc Sci Med

Soc Sci Med

Soc Sci Med

Clin Ther

Patient Educ Couns

Patient Educ Couns

Qualitative evaluation and research methods

Self-medication in childhood: observations at a residential summer camp

Pediatrics

Over-the-counter medication use among US preschool-age children

JAMA

Adolescents’ use of prescribed drugs and over-the-counter preparations

J Public Health Med

Self-administration of over-the-counter medication for pain among adolescents

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

Adolescents’ drug use and drug knowledge

Eur J Pediatr

International survey of self-reported medicine use among adolescents

Ann Pharmacother

Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century

Health Promot Int

A longitudinal study of children and medicines

Children and medicines: what they want to know and how they want to learn

J Soc Adm Pharm

Concepts of adverse drug reactions among children in eight countries

“Preferably half a tablet”: health-seeking behavior when Dutch children get ill