Assessment of knowledge and practice regarding pediatric oral drug administration among primary care givers in pediatric wards of Teaching Hospital Batticaloa.

Abstract

Children are different from adults as they are not taking medicines by themselves. Medications have to be administered by primary caregivers to children. Insufficient knowledge of medication administration in primary caregivers has been resulting in countless adverse drug events in children including overdosing, poisoning or increased risk of growth retardation and even death. With proper knowledge and practice, the primary caregivers can administer drug correctly and safely to their child. Further, medication errors and unfavorable consequences can be prevented by correct drug administration. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice regarding pediatric oral drug administration among primary care givers in pediatric wards of Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in paediatric wards at teaching hospital, Batticaloa among primary caregivers of children. Participants were selected by using simple random sampling. After obtaining informed written consent, data were collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Ethics Review Comitte, Facilty of HealthCare Sciences, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. A total of 260 respondents were interviewed of which 95.4% were mothers among the primary caregivers. Majority 46.2% of them belonged to 31-40 age group. The majority (72.3%) of respondents had moderate knowledge regarding pediatric drug administration. Only 18.5% of respondents had inadequate knowledge. More than half (57.3%) of respondents had moderate level of practice. Only 40.8% respondents were actually practicing correct drug administration. Chi square tests were performed to understand the association between knowledge and practice. There were significant association between knowlege and practice in certain aspects such as breaking the tablets, dissoloving the tablets, using alternate dosage form when the child refuse, correct drug administration tools, break the tablets, give half tablet, liquid medication usage, follow the instruction, disposable of remaining medication. This finding indicates that there is a gap between knowledge and practice among primary care givers regarding pediatric oral drug administration. Knowledge and practice regarding pediatric oral drug administration among the prmary caregivers were moderate. Despite having adequate knowledge, this study shows that primary caregivers don’t practice drug administration based on their knowledge level.