Minor ailments
like sore throat, fever, cough and diarrhea can be relieved with
over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as paracetamol or other
traditional remedies, without seeking for consultation from general
practitioners. Parents usually take the responsibility to come
up with some kind of treatment for their children.
Objective: (1) to evaluate the parents’ medical knowledge about
OTC medicines which are usually used by the parents to treat their
children and (2) to evaluate the parents’ management in dealing
with their children’s ailments, and (3) to evaluate the association
between medical knowledge and the management of children’s ailments
related to medicine use among the parents.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to measure the
parents’ knowledge about their children’s ailments. Subjects were
selected and information was obtained in September 2008. Non-probability
convenient sampling method was used. Parents were recruited from
the general public to answer the questionnaires.
Results: 197 parents filled in the questionnaires. From the total
respondents, 48.2% of them were male. This study showed that most
respondents have medium knowledge (6.11 SD=3.6) and a moderate
management (4.39 SD=2.7). The results showed that there is a significant
difference between the knowledge and the management level of ailments
(P=0.033). Regarding the education level of the parents and the
socioeconomic status, the p-value showed there was a significant
difference between parents’ knowledge and their education level
(P=0.012).
Conclusion: This study showed that parents have inadequate knowledge
and some misconception about how to go about treating their children
when they are unwell. It is hoped that by identifying weak areas
in parents’ management to their children’s ailments, better planned
educational and behavioral modification efforts can be made to
elevate the knowledge level among the parents when they medically
treat their children.
