@article{ref1,
title="Effect of medication label units of measure on parent choice of dosing tool: a randomized experiment",
journal="Academic pediatrics",
year="2016",
author="Yin, H. Shonna and Parker, Ruth M. and Sanders, Lee M. and Dreyer, Benard P. and Mendelsohn, Alan and Bailey, Stacy and Patel, Deesha A. and Jimenez, Jessica J. and Kim, Kwang-Youn A. and Jacobson, Kara and Hedlund, Laurie and Landa, Rosa and Maness, Leslie and Tailor Raythatha, Purvi and McFadden, Terri and Wolf, Michael S.",
volume="16",
number="8",
pages="734-741",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Some experts recommend eliminating &quot;teaspoon&quot; and &quot;tablespoon&quot; terms from pediatric medication dosing instructions, because these terms could inadvertently encourage use of nonstandard tools (ie, kitchen spoons), which are associated with dosing errors. We examined whether use of &quot;teaspoon&quot; or &quot;tsp&quot; on prescription labels affects parents' choice of dosing tools, and the role of health literacy and language. <br><br>METHODS: Analysis of data collected as part of a controlled experiment (SAFE Rx for Kids [Safe Administration For Every Prescription for Kids] study), which randomized English- and Spanish-speaking parents (n = 2110) of children 8 years of age and younger to 1 of 5 groups, which varied in unit of measurement pairings on medication labels and dosing tools. Outcome assessed was parent self-reported choice of dosing tool. Parent health literacy was measured using the Newest Vital Sign. <br><br>RESULTS: Seventy-seven percent had limited health literacy (36.0% low, 41.0% marginal); 35.0% completed assessments in Spanish. Overall, 27.7% who viewed labels containing either &quot;tsp&quot; or &quot;teaspoon&quot; units (alone or with &quot;mL&quot;) chose nonstandard dosing tools (ie, kitchen teaspoon, kitchen tablespoon), compared with 8.3% who viewed &quot;mL&quot;-only labels (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.4 [95% confidence interval (CI), 3.3-5.8]). Odds varied based on whether &quot;teaspoon&quot; was spelled out or abbreviated (&quot;teaspoon&quot;-alone: AOR = 5.3 [95% CI, 3.8-7.3]); &quot;teaspoon&quot; with mL: AOR = 4.7 [95% CI, 3.3-6.5]; &quot;tsp&quot; with mL: AOR = 3.3 [95% CI, 2.4-4.7]; P < .001). Similar findings were noted across health literacy and language groups. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Use of teaspoon units (&quot;teaspoon&quot; or &quot;tsp&quot;) on prescription labels is associated with increased likelihood of parent choice of nonstandard dosing tools. Future studies might be helpful to examine the real-world effect of eliminating teaspoon units from medication labels, and identify additional strategies to promote the safe use of pediatric liquid medications.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1876-2859",
doi="10.1016/j.acap.2016.04.012",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2016.04.012"
}