Assessment of Knowledge, Practices and Attitudes of Pediatric Caregivers on Household Storage of Oral Liquid Medicines.

Abstract

Background: Oral liquid medicines are frequently prescribed dosage forms for pediatric patients and the safe use of these medicines is still a major problem. Therefore, it is a timely requirement to assess the awareness of pediatric caregivers on the household storage of oral liquid medicines. Objective: To assess the knowledge, practices and attitudes of pediatric caregivers in Wariyapola Medical Officer of Health (MOH) services division, Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka on the household storage of oral liquid medicines (OLM) Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on pediatric caregivers in Wariyapola MOH area using a convenient sampling method. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire by the researchers and clinical experts. The questionnaire consisted of socio demographic data, knowledge, practices and attitudes on household storage of OLM. Likert scale and yes/no questions were used to assess knowledge, practices and attitude. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The total number of participants was 405. Of them, 259 (64%) were females. Among the total respondents, 76.8% had a ‘favourable knowledge’ of household storage of OLM as per their knowledge level. The least attention (80.7%) was towards the ‘moisture absorption’ of OLM during storage practices. The highest attention (96%) was on the ‘expiry date’ mentioned in the label. The number of children (p=0.001) and the respondents' educational level (p=0.000) significantly influenced the knowledge. Furthermore, 71.1% of the respondents were willing to participate in awareness programs and 73.6% of the respondents believed it would be beneficial to receive advice from pharmacists on how to properly store OLM. Conclusion: The knowledge, practices and attitudes of pediatric caregivers on household storage of OLM are not optimal. People should be educated about the correct storage methods and risk of improper storage of OLM at home.