earticle

영어

The objective of this study was to find out guardians' understanding on the antibiotic use for their children under elementary school age. Survey analysis was performed on 671 questionnaire response sheets from the guardians for children (≤13 years old) attending daycare centers, kindergartens, or elementary schools located in eastern part and vicinity of Seoul, Korea. Result showed that majority of the guardians did not follow right direction for the use of antibiotic medications. About 80% of the guardians discontinued or reduced dosage of the antibiotic medications if symptoms relieved, and about 66% of them administered the drug always after meal although interval was not consistent. Furthermore, only one-fifth of the guardians understood right indication of antibiotic medications that it is of no use to take antibiotics for the treatment of common cold. About 65% of the guardians participated in this study responded that they received drug information for antibiotic medications from doctors or pharmacists. However, in terms of knowledge score regarding antibiotic drug use, their score was significantly lower than that of guardians who received the information from internet or mass media. This result suggests that patients counsel is not efficiently being practiced among healthcare professionals in the region surveyed in this study. Therefore, in conclusion, it appears that community pharmacists need to be more interactive in patients counsel when they dispense antibiotic medications.