RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To determine parental understanding of directions on common pediatric prescription pharmacy labels and to identify enablers and barriers that affect interpretation of these labels. METHODS: Prospective qualitative descriptive study (July to August 2020) of 20 parents in post-surgical wards at a single Australian tertiary pediatric center. RESULTS: Four key themes emerged through inductive analysis of the interview transcripts: 1) the addition of specific directions, such as administration with/without food and treatment course duration were perceived to be beneficial; 2) explicit phrasing of dosing intervals and times were more easily interpreted; 3) the use of simpler and common terminology enhanced understanding of the directions; and 4) presentation of multiple-step directions (e.g. tapering regimens) in a simplified and more organized manner was identified as an enabler and was thought to reduce confusion. CONCLUSION: Differences in wording and presentation of pediatric prescription medication label directions led to variable interpretation by parents. PRACTISE IMPLICATIONS: Therefore, there is a need for guidelines to standardize the wording of prescription medication advice labels. Findings from this study can be used to achieve this goal.
