Medication-related knowledge, administration practice and adherence among caregivers of chronically ill children in Malaysia

BMC Pediatrics

Chee-tao Chang¹  Amar-singh HSS¹  Chii-chii Chew²  Huan-keat Chan³  Mohamed azmi Hassali⁴ 

[1] Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health, Level 4, Ambulatory Care Centre (ACC), Jalan Raja Ashman Shah, 30450, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia;Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ministry of Health, Level 4, Ambulatory Care Centre (ACC), Jalan Raja Ashman Shah, 30450, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia;Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia;Clinical Research Centre, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Ministry of Health, 05460 Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia;Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia;

关键词: Child;    Chronic disease;    Caregivers;    Parents;    Administration and dosage;    Medication adherence;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12887-021-02691-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCaregivers’ knowledge, practice and adherence in medication administration who care for children with chronic illness requiring long-term pharmacological treatments are factors associating with children medication safety at home. This study aimed to determine the medication-related knowledge, administration practice and adherence among caregivers of chronically ill children in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the paediatric outpatient clinic of a tertiary public hospital. Caregivers of chronically ill children, who engaged in medication administration at home for at least 3 months, were conveniently recruited. Their medication-related knowledge and administration practice were evaluated based on a checklist, while their adherence to medication administration was assessed using a validated 5-point scale. The associated factors were also explored.ResultsOf the 141 participants, most were mothers (90.8%) and had a full-time job (55.3%). Most of them had adequate medication-related knowledge (71.6%) and an appropriate administration practice (83.0%). The majority of them (83.0%) also rated themselves as adherent to medication administration. The participants with a child above 5 years of age (91.2%) were found to have a better practice than those with younger children (75.3%) in medication administration (p = 0.012). However, those with a child taking two (adjusted OR: 12.53) or three (adjusted OR: 8.29) medications, getting their refills from private health institutions apart from this hospital (adjusted OR = 7.06) and having multiple illnesses (adjusted OR = 21.25) were more likely to be not adherent to medication administration.ConclusionCaregivers of chronically ill children in Malaysia generally have sufficient knowledge and an appropriate practice of medication administration at home. Yet, strategies to improve the adherence to medication administration, particularly in those who care for children with complicated health conditions, are warranted.

【 授权许可】

CC BY