Parental acceptability of the watchful waiting approach in pediatric acute otitis media

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Infectious Diseases
• Public Health

Background:

• Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common childhood illness often treated with antibiotics.
• Parental knowledge and attitudes significantly impact treatment adherence and decision-making.
• The watchful waiting (WW) approach offers an alternative to immediate antibiotic prescription for AOM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess parental understanding of AOM, its antibiotic management, and antibiotic resistance.
• To evaluate parental willingness to adopt the watchful waiting (WW) approach for AOM in primary care.
• To identify factors influencing parental knowledge and acceptance of WW in southern Israel.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 600 parents of children under 6 years old in southern Israel.
• Data collected via questionnaires assessing demographics, AOM history, knowledge of antibiotic resistance, and attitudes towards WW.
• Statistical analysis, including logistic regression, used to identify associations between variables.

Main Results:

• 57% of parents possessed knowledge of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
• 86% of parents expressed willingness to accept or probably accept the WW approach.
• Parental education and prior AOM experience were significantly associated with knowledge and WW acceptance, respectively.

Conclusions:

• Parental education and AOM experience are key factors influencing knowledge of antibiotic use and resistance, as well as acceptance of the WW approach.
• Targeted educational interventions may improve parental understanding and adoption of conservative AOM management strategies.
• Findings highlight the importance of addressing parental knowledge gaps to optimize AOM treatment in primary care settings.