Is Parents Oral Health Literacy Level Associated With Ability to Dose Medication for Their Children?

Parents with inadequate oral health literacy (OHL) have limitations in understanding the information transmitted by health professionals and have difficulty incorporating it into their routine.

This study evaluated parents' OHL level and their ability to properly administer prescribed medication to their children.

OHL was measured using the Oral Health Literacy-Adult Questionnaire. Parents (n = 171) were presented with an antibiotic bottle, dosing syringe, medication package insert, and a standard prescription. After reading, parents were instructed to measure the medication amount described, which was categorized as "correct" (±20% of recommended dose) or "error" (variation greater than ±20%). Descriptive analysis and association of independent variables with OHL were performed (chi-squared test, p ≤ 0.05).

The average OHL level of parents was 11.46 (±3.03). Among parents with an adequate OHL level, only 17 (18.9%) correctly measured the amount of medication according to the package insert, and 39 (43.3%) with a prescription. Parents with inadequate OHL were 68% more likely to have a dosage error according to the package insert compared to those with adequate OHL (p = 0.031).

It can be concluded that regardless of the level of OHL, parents had difficulty in properly dosing the liquid medication, both from reading the package insert and the prescription.