Parents' Medicine-Seeking Behavior and Their Beliefs About the Efficacy of Medicines.

OBJECTIVES

Parents' medicine-seeking behavior is often influenced by their own experiences with illness. The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' medicine-seeking behavior and their beliefs regarding the efficacy of medicines.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among parents in Mosul, Iraq. A convenience sampling method was used to select the parents who visited community pharmacies to buy medication for their ill children. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect data from 380 parents who successfully completed the survey.

RESULTS

The majority of parents (83.4%) stated that they read the labels of medications before giving them to their children, and more than half of the parents (57.9%) did not buy medicines for their children without consulting a doctor. In addition, 65% of the participants asked about the possible side effects of the medicines. Additionally, the majority of parents (73.2%) believed that branded medicines were more effective than generic medicines, and 63.4% of them believed that the efficacy of medicines is not related to the manufacturing countries. Furthermore, 62.9% of the parents believed that the efficacy of medicines is not related to their price, while 35.2% of them believed that injections were more effective than other dosage forms. Parents' medicine-seeking behavior and their beliefs about the efficacy of medicines were significantly associated with parents' higher education level and higher family income.

CONCLUSION

There was inadequate information among parents concerning the use of medicines, including side effects, proper utilization, and the importance of seeking medical assistance. Furthermore, parents have false beliefs about the efficacy of medicines.