Parents' pain medication underdosing is associated with more emergency department visits in sickle cell disease.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To determine the association between health literacy, medication knowledge, and pain treatment skills with emergency department (ED) use of parents of children with sickle cell disease (SCD).

Methods

Parents of children 1- to 12-years-old with SCD were enrolled. Health literacy was assessed using the Newest Vital Sign. Parents completed a structured interview assessing knowledge of the dosage and frequency of home pain medications and an applied skills task requiring them to dose a prescribed pain medication. Underdosage was defined by too small a dose (dosage error) or too infrequent a dose (frequency error). The association between medication knowledge and applied skills with ED visits for pain over the past year was evaluated using Poisson regression adjusting f

SUBMITTER: Morrison AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5821544 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature