Search

This study aimed to assess the accuracy of liquid drug dose measurements made by caregivers and explore the factors influencing these measurements. Caregivers (n = 176) of children aged less than 8 years, who were treated at the pediatric clinic of a university hospital in Turkey between July and October 2019, were eligible to participate in this study. The caregivers' ability to accurately measure a 2.5-mL dose of medication was observed using standardized measurement instruments, including 15-mL and 30-mL dosing cups, a 3-mL dropper, a 5-mL dose spoon, and a 5-mL oral syringe. A comparison was made with the reference weight determined for the 2.5-mL dose to calculate the margin of error. A dose of ± 20% of the reference value was considered a clinically significant error. The chi-square test was used to examine differences in dose error rates concerning individual characteristics. Caregivers exhibited a dosing error rate exceeding 20%. Specifically, 43% of the errors occurred when using 15-mL cups, 37% with 30-mL cups, 22% with 3-mL droppers, 4.5% with 5-mL spoons, and 4% with 5-mL syringes. In cases where errors were under 20%, the rates were as follows: 1.1% with 15-mL cups, 2.8% with 30-mL cups, 19% with 3-mL droppers, 3.4% with 5-mL spoons, and 4% with 5-mL syringes. The dosing errors were not affected by the role and health literacy level of caregivers, regardless of the type of dosing tool they used (all p values > 0.05). The study found that oral syringes and dosing spoons had the lowest error rates, whereas dosing cups had the highest error rates. Conclusion: Healthcare providers in family health centers and pediatric clinics should educate caregivers about proper drug administration with oral syringes and dosing spoons, even if dosing cups are included. What is Known: • Dose calculation errors and incorrect measurement tools are the leading factors causing errors. • Liquid medicine bottles are still often accompanied by dosing cups as measuring instruments. • Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommend that parents use standard measuring instruments such as oral syringes, droppers, and measuring spoons instead of kitchen spoons for administering the correct dose to children. What is New: • The measuring tool with the maximum errors was the dosing cup, whereas oral syringes and dosing spoons were more accurate. • Individual administering medication at home and the health literacy level had no effect on the accuracy of dose measurement. • Pediatric nurses, in particular, should incorporate safe liquid medication measurement tools into parental education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the experience of partnership development according to the degree of partnership between pediatric nurses and the parents of high-risk infants to identify the process of developing partnership using a two-step design with methodological triangulation that combined quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the first stage, 54 pairs of parents of high-risk infants in a NICU and their babies' primary nurses participated in the quantitative component of the study through a partnership survey. Based on the partnership scores obtained via the survey, we divided the participants into two groups: (1) a 4.0-point-and-higher group and (2) a group of over 3.0, but under 4.0 points, and thereafter included them in the qualitative component of the study—a semi-structured interview. We found that the core category influencing the pediatric nurses' partnership was "being a guide in working together," whereas for the parents, it was "getting along with the nurse based on faith." The process of partnership development between pediatric nurses and parents differed based on high and low partnership scores. Our study is meaningful in that it validated and added to the developing literature on the partnership between parents and nurses in NICU situations while considering the South Korean culture, and comprehensively explaining such partnership development from the parent's and nurse's individual perspectives. Considering the partnership development process between pediatric nurses and the parents of high-risk infants in the NICU based on their values and needs to promote partnership, a nursing intervention strategy to provide proper nursing management needs to be developed. Highlights: We investigated the degree and development process of partnership between nurses and parents of high-risk infants. The partnership development process differed according to the partnership score levels. These results may lay the groundwork for developing partnership interventions that consider nurses' and parents' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe healthcare professionals' perceptions of social health inequalities in the context of pediatric chronic disease and their insights regarding proportionate universalism as a potential solution to reduce them. Semi-directive interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals from different pediatric chronic disease departments of a single French academic hospital. This qualitative study was based on an inductive thematic analysis; an interview topic guide was used for the interviews and the analysis. In this study, we highlighted three main themes: the healthcare professionals' perceptions of social health inequalities in their practices, their beliefs regarding the causality of those inequalities, and potential solutions proposed by healthcare professionals to reduce them. Healthcare professionals very often associated inequalities with socio-economic precariousness or geographical disparities but were not familiar with the notion of a social gradient. Paradoxically, while they claimed not to differentiate among patients in their practice, they did report adapting care, depending on the social situation. For healthcare professionals, inequalities were the result of misunderstood problems, a lack of family support, a failure of the prevention system, and a lack of financial resources. Conclusion: We still need to develop solutions to tackle those inequalities at every level of the healthcare system, and healthcare professionals must be more actively involved in this effort. One approach is to adapt public health principles such as proportionate universalism to individual care. What is Known: • Social health inequalities exist in pediatric care and a social gradient has been shown in many clinical situations. • Exploring health professionals' perceptions of social health inequalities can lead to solutions to tackle them. What is New: • Pediatricians and pediatric nurses were not fully aware of the social gradient of health. • Although they claimed not to differentiate between patients in their practice, healthcare professionals did adapt care when complicated social situations arose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]