Xiao-Ling Wang, Jun Liu, Zi-Qi Li, Zhi-Lin Luan
Application of Physical Examination Data on Health Analysis and Intelligent Diagnosis
BioMed research international
experts recommend eliminating teaspoon tablespoon terms pediatric medication dosing instructions terms could inadvertently encourage use nonstandard tools ie kitchen spoons associated dosing errors examined whether use teaspoon tsp prescription labels affects parents choice dosing tools role health literacy language analysis data collected part controlled experiment safe rx kids safe administration every prescription kids study randomized english spanishspeaking parents n 2110 children 8 years age younger 1 5 groups varied unit measurement pairings medication labels dosing tools outcome assessed parent selfreported choice dosing tool parent health literacy measured using newest vital sign seventyseven percent limited health literacy 360 low 410 marginal 350 completed assessments spanish overall 277 viewed labels containing either tsp teaspoon units alone ml chose nonstandard dosing tools ie kitchen teaspoon kitchen tablespoon compared 83 viewed mlonly labels adjusted odds ratio aor 44 95 confidence interval ci 3358 odds varied based whether teaspoon spelled abbreviated teaspoonalone aor 53 95 ci 3873 teaspoon ml aor 47 95 ci 3365 tsp ml aor 33 95 ci 2447 p 001 similar findings noted across health literacy language groups use teaspoon units teaspoon tsp prescription labels associated increased likelihood parent choice nonstandard dosing tools future studies might helpful examine realworld effect eliminating teaspoon units medication labels identify additional strategies promote safe use pediatric liquid medications