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Medication administration in day care centers for children
Heidi S Sinkovits1, Michael W Kelly, Michael E Ernst
1Group Health of the Puget Sound, Seattle, Wash, USA.
Summary
Medications are frequently given to children in day care centers (DCCs), with common errors like missed doses. Staff often lack training in medication administration, increasing risks. Pharmacists can help by providing education to DCC staff.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Pharmacology
- Public Health
Background:
- Day care centers (DCCs) administer medications to children.
- Standardized procedures and staff training for medication administration in DCCs are not well-understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine medication administration frequency and types in DCCs.
- To assess the use of standardized procedures and occurrence of errors.
- To evaluate staff training on medication administration.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted.
- Day care supervisors from eastern Iowa DCCs provided self-reported data.
- Data collected included medication administration frequency, types, storage, dispensing, record-keeping, and staff training.
Main Results:
- 5.5% of children received medications in DCCs over a 2-week period.
- Commonly administered medications included antibiotics, cold medications, analgesics, and ADHD medications.
- Frequent errors reported were missed doses (55.6%) and unavailable medications (50.6%).
- While all DCCs had policies, only 50% provided staff training on medication administration.
Conclusions:
- Medication administration in DCCs is common and carries potential risks.
- DCC staff often lack adequate education on medication handling and administration.
- Pharmacists should educate DCC staff to mitigate medication-related risks.