Shocking study worries Alberta nurses
Posted Aug 30, 2010 12:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Some disturbing stats are out that nurses hope will have parents and caregivers taking more care in administering medicine when children are sick.
A study from the University of Sydney in Australia has found that 61% of parents and caregivers are either overdosing their children with liquid medicine or giving them too little.
Nearly a hundred parents and caregivers took part in the study.
17% of them measured out an overdose while 44% undershot their measurements.
The figures are causing a lot of concern in our province.
Many parents use kitchen spoons to administer medicine, a practice that is making it harder to get the dosage right.
Heather Smith, the president of the United Nurses of Alberta, tells 660News the spoons can vary in size and often result in the wrong dose.
Smith says many people also make costly assumptions when it comes to medicines.
“There’s sort of a naive perception that, if you can buy something over the counter, that it’s safe and you don’t have to be so worried regarding the dose. What this study clearly indicates is that’s wrong,” she says.
The study also found that children under the age of five are at the highest risk of accidental overdose.
Smith wants the government to start a public information campaign to raise awareness about the problem.
