Adolescent and Parent Management of Controlled Prescription Medications.

Background

Most adolescents who misuse controlled prescription medications acquire them from home settings. However, little is known regarding household management (storage, administration, and disposal) of these medications.

Objective

To describe household management of controlled medications.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study with paired data using brief, online, confidential surveys of adolescents and parents via an adolescent medicine clinic associated with a large academic center. Eligible adolescents were 12-18 years with at least one controlled prescription medication in the home. Six core safe management strategies for controlled medications were identified based on current recommendations. Data were collected and analyzed in 2017.

Results

Of the 243 adolescent-parent dyads, 78.2% (n = 190) dyads store medication out of sight, 68.7% (n = 167) lock up medications, 78.2% (n = 190) do not store pills besides a school nurse's office or a parent's place of work, 43.6% (n = 106) provide periodic parental monitoring, 64.6% (n = 157) frequently dispose of unused controlled medications (at least every 3-4 months), and 80.2% (n = 195) dispose of controlled medications in a prescription drug take-back program or by flushing. Families with an adolescent prescription for a controlled medication were more likely to use several core management strategies (periodic parental monitoring, frequent disposal, and appropriate disposal location). Families with a household pain reliever were 8.7 times (95% CI 3.3, 23.3) as likely to not keep spare pills in inappropriate locations. Conclusions/

Importance

Most families do not practice all recommended safe management strategies for controlled medications. Healthcare professionals should promote safe management to reduce controlled prescription medication misuse.