Archive \ Volume.4 2013 Issue 2

Saudi parent’s attitude and practice about self-medicating their children

Ahmed S. Eldalo
Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the parental self-medication attitude and practice toward their children in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted. Non-probability convenient random sampling method was used to select the participants. A total of 750 parents from different cities in the Saudi Arabia were involved in the study. Results: The obtained response rate was 80%. The majority of participants were used to treat their children by western medicines. Most of respondents self-medicated their children in the month previous to the study period. The most common reported self-treated symptom was fever, although the most frequently used medicines were paracetamol and antibiotics. The attitude to treat fever was higher in males than in females (P = 0.021). The initial response for most participants in case of self treatment failure was to consult physicians in public hospitals; education level of participants showed significant difference (P = 0.041). The main reasons for self-medication were long waiting time in the clinics and high consultation fees. Occupation showed a significant differences (P = 0.008). Conclusion: The current study revealed the fact that parental self-medication among public in Saudi Arabia is a routine practice. The researchers suggested introduction of parental educational interventions throughout the Saudi Arabia to ensure that children will receive best pharmaceutical care.



Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.