Top

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy

Published in:

01-10-2011 | Research Article

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

Authors: Katri Hämeen-Anttila, Pirjo Halonen, Sanna Siponen, Miina Holappa, Riitta Ahonen

Published in: International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy | Issue 5/2011

Abstract

Objective The aim was to describe parental attitudes towards medicine use in children, and the factors associated with them. Setting A cross-sectional population survey of a random sample of children under 12 years of age (n = 6,000) was carried out in Finland in the spring of 2007, with a response rate of 67%. Method A questionnaire was sent to their parents. A Principal Component Analysis was conducted for the attitudinal scale to determine parental attitudes. Main outcome measure An attitudinal scale including 21 items on five-point Likert scale was used to determine parental attitudes towards medicines. Results Five principal components with 18 statements explained parental attitudes: General attitude towards medicines, Attitude towards prescription medicines, Attitude towards OTC medicines, Attitude towards the risks of medicines, and Attitude towards long-term use of pain-killers. These components were internally consistent and explained 54.7% of the total variance. Of the respondents, 15% were cautious towards medicine use, 84% agreed that prescription medicines are safe and effective, whereas 49% thought so about OTC medicines. Of the respondents, 69% were worried about the risks of medicines, especially parents older than 46 years, with a low level of education, who used medicinal herbs themselves, and had a child with a long-term illness. Moreover, 46% of the respondents were worried about the long-term use of pain-killers. Conclusion This population based study showed that the parental attitudes toward prescription medicines and toward OTC medicines are different: many parents consider prescription medicines as safe and effective, less think so of OTC medicines. A considerable proportion of parents had worries about side effects and interactions. This stresses the need to address these topics in encounters with parents.

Horne R, Weinman J. Patients’ beliefs about prescribed medicines and their role in adherence to treatment in chronic physical illness. J Psychosom Res. 1999;47:555–67.PubMedCrossRef

World Health Organization. Adherence to long-term therapies. Evidence for action. 2003. http://www.who.int/chp/knowledge/publications/adherence_report/en/index.html. Accessed 1 April 2009. ISBN 92-4-154599-2.

Bush PJ, Iannotti RJ. Origins and stability of children’s health beliefs relative to medicine use. Soc Sci Med. 1988;27:345–52.PubMedCrossRef

Bush PJ, Iannotti RJ. A children’s health belief model. Med Care. 1990;28:69–83.PubMedCrossRef

Garcia M, Sanz E, Aramburuzabala P, Almarsdottir AB. Concepts of adverse drug reactions among children in eight countries. In: Bush PJ, Trakas DJ, Sanz E, Wirsing RL, Vaskilampi T, Prout A, editors. Children, medicines, and culture. New York: Pharmaceutical products press; 1996. pp. 193–208. ISBN 1-56024-937-4.

Vaskilampi T, Kalpio O, Ahonen R, Hallia O. Finnish study on medicine use, health behavior and perceptions of medicines and health care. In: Trakas DJ, Sanz E, editors. Childhood and medicine use in a cross-cultural perspective: a European concerted action. Brussels: European Commission Report EUR 16646 EN; 1996. pp. 191–219. ISBN 92-827-4978-9.

Hämeen-Anttila K, Juvonen M, Ahonen R, Bush PJ, Airaksinen M. How well can children understand medicine related topics? Patient Educ Couns. 2006;60:171–8.PubMedCrossRef

Divertie V. Strategies to promote medication adherence. Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2002;27:10–8.CrossRef

Conn KM, Halterman JS, Lynch K, Cabana MD. The impact of parents’ medication beliefs on asthma management. Pediatrics. 2007;120:e521–6.PubMedCrossRef

10.

Hansen DL, Holme Hansen E. Caught in a balancing act: parents’ dilemmas regarding their ADHD child’s treatment with stimulant medication. Qual Health Res. 2006;16:1–19.CrossRef

11.

Simoni JM, Montgomery A, Martin E, New M, Demas PA, Rana S. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy for pediatric HIV infection: a Qualitative systematic review with recommendations for research and clinical management. Pediatrics. 2007;119:e1371–83.PubMedCrossRef

12.

Palmer DA, Bauchner H. Parents’ and physicians’ views on antibiotics. Pediatrics. 1997;99:e6.PubMedCrossRef

13.

Watson RL, Dowell SF, Jayaraman M, Keyserling H, Kolczak M, Schwartz B. Antimicrobial use for pediatric upper respiratory infections: reported practice, actual practice, and parent beliefs. Pediatrics. 1999;104:1251–7.PubMedCrossRef

14.

Britten N. Patients’ ideas about medicines: a qualitative study in a general practice population. Br J Gen Pract. 1994;44:465–8.PubMed

15.

Horne R, Graupner L, Frost S, Weinman J, Wright SM, Hankins M. Medicine in a multi-cultural society: the effect of cultural background on beliefs about medications. Soc Sci Med. 2004;59:1307–13.PubMedCrossRef

16.

Britten N, Ukoumunne OC, Boulton MG. Patients’ attitudes to medicines and expectations for prescriptions. Health Expect. 2002;5:256–69.PubMedCrossRef

17.

Conrad P. The meaning of medications: another look at compliance. Soc Sci Med. 1985;20:29–37.PubMedCrossRef

18.

Donovan JL, Blake DR. Patient non-compliance: deviance or reasoned decision-making? Soc Sci Med. 1992;34:507–13.PubMedCrossRef

19.

Townsend A, Hunt K, Wyke S. Managing multiple morbidity in mid-life: a qualitative study of attitudes to drug use. BMJ. 2003;327:837–42.PubMedCrossRef

20.

Hansson Scherman M, Löwhagen O. Drug compliance and identity: reasons for non-compliance, experiences of medication from persons with asthma/allergy. Patient Educ Couns. 2004;54:3–9.PubMedCrossRef

21.

Isacson D, Bingefors K. Attitudes toward drugs—a survey in the general population. Pharm World Sci. 2002;24:104–10.PubMedCrossRef

22.

Mårdby A-C, Åkerlind I, Jörgensen T. Beliefs about medicines and self-reported adherence among pharmacy clients. Patient Educ Couns. 2007;69:158–64.PubMed

23.

Hämeen-Anttila K, Lindell-Osuagwu L, Sepponen K, Vainio K, Halonen P, Ahonen R. Factors associated with medicine use among children aged under 12 years—a population survey in Finland. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug. 2010;19:400–7.

24.

Horne R, Weinman J, Hankins M. The beliefs about medicines questionnaire: the development and evaluation of a new method for assessing the cognitive representation of medication. Psychol Health. 1999;14:1–24.CrossRef

25.

Kaiser HF. An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika. 1974;39(1):31–6.CrossRef

26.

Nunnally JC, Bernstein IH. Psychometric theory. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1994. pp. 473–476. ISBN 0-07-047849-X.

27.

Pett MA, Lackey NR, Sullivan JJ. Making sense of factor analysis. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 2003. p. 87. ISBN 0-7619-1950-3.

28.

Sirkin RM. Statistics for the social sciences. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications; 2006. p. 238. ISBN 1-4129-0546-X.

29.

Ylinen S, HämeenAnttila K, Sepponen K, Kettis Lindblad Å, Ahonen R. The use of prescription medicines and self medication among Finnish children under 12 years. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug. 2010;19:1000–8.CrossRef

30.

Ahonen R, Kalpio O, Vaskilampi T, Hallia O. Self-medication among families with children in Jyväskylä, Finland. In: Bush PJ, Trakas DJ, Sanz EJ, Wirsing RL, Vaskilampi T, Prout A, editors. Children, medicines, and culture. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press; 1996. pp. 275–93. ISBN 1-56024-937-4.

31.

Enlund H, Vainio K, Wallenius S, Poston JW. Adverse drug effects and the need for drug information. Med Care. 1991;29:558–64.PubMedCrossRef

32.

Lyons RF, Rumore MM, Merola MR. An analysis of drug information desired by the patient. (Are patients being told everything they wish to know under OBRA`90?). J Clin Pharm Ther. 1996;21:221–8.PubMedCrossRef

33.

Smith F, Francis S-A, Rowley E. Group interviews with people taking long-term medication: comparing the perspectives of people with arthritis, respiratory disease and mental health problems. Int J Pharm Pract. 2000;8:88–96.CrossRef

34.

Fisher HR. The needs of parents with chronically sick children: a literature review. J Adv Nurs. 2001;36:600–7.PubMedCrossRef

35.

Jackson C, Cheater FM, Reid I. A systematic review of decision support needs of parents making child health decisions. Health Expect. 2008;11:232–51.PubMedCrossRef

36.

Vainio K. Lääkeneuvonnan kehittäminen suomalaisissa apteekeissa (Developing patient counseling in Finnish community pharmacies). Kuopio University Publications A. Pharmaceutical Sciences 78, Kuopio (in Finnish with English summary). 2004. ISBN 951-781-296-5.

37.

Airaksinen M, Vainio K, Koistinen J, Ahonen R, Wallenius S, Enlund H. Do the public and pharmacists share opinions about drug information. Int Pharm J. 1994;8:168–71.

38.

Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. New York: Academic Press; 1988. pp. 20–27. ISBN 0-8058-0283-5.

39.

Menacker F, Aramburuzabala P, Minian N, Bush PJ, Bibace R. Children and medicines: what they want to know and how they want to learn. J Soc Adm Pharm. 1999;16:38–52.

40.

Chambers CT, Reid GJ, McGrath PJ, Finley GA. Self-administration of over-the-counter medication for pain among adolescents. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:449–55.PubMed

41.

Hämeen-Anttila K, Englund A, Ahonen R. Miten usein koululaiset käyttävät itsehoitolääkkeitä? (How often schoolchildren use OTC-medicines?). Dosis 2005;21:182–190 (In Finnish with an English summary).

Title: Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland
Authors: Katri Hämeen-Anttila
Pirjo Halonen
Sanna Siponen
Miina Holappa
Riitta Ahonen
Publication date: 01-10-2011
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy / Issue 5/2011
Print ISSN: 2210-7703
Electronic ISSN: 2210-7711
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-011-9549-3

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Parental attitudes toward medicine use in children in Finland

Abstract

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on sleep in brain health

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 5/2011

Role of the hospital pharmacy and therapeutics committee in detecting and regulating off-label drug use

Impact of multi-approach strategy on acid suppressive medication use in a teaching hospital in Qatar

Interactions between parents/carers of pre-school children and pharmacy staff when buying non-prescription medicines

Drug-related problems in diabetes and transplant patients: an observational study with home visits

Comparative safety of antipsychotics in the WHO pharmacovigilance database: the haloperidol case

Pharmacist prescribing in Northern Ireland: a quantitative assessment

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

Incentivised to exercise

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page