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April 28th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda SATURDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) — Parents with poor math
skills are more likely than others to give incorrect doses of medicine to
their children, a new study finds.
The study included 289 parents of children younger than 8 years who
were prescribed a short course of liquid medication after being seen in a
pediatric emergency department. The parents were given three tests to
assess their math and reading skills, and researchers also watched the
parents as they measured out a dose of the medication prescribed for their
child.
Nearly one-third of the parents had low reading skills and 83 percent
had poor math skills. Twenty-seven percent had math skills at the
third-grade level or below.
Overall, 41 percent of the parents made a medication-dosing error.
Parents with math skills at or below the third-grade level were nearly
five times more likely to make a medication-dosing error than those with
math skills at the sixth-grade level or higher.
The study was scheduled for presentation Saturday at the Pediatric
Academic Societies annual meeting in Boston.
“Parents face many challenges as they seek to administer medications to
their children in a safe and effective manner,” study co-author Dr. H.
Shonna Yin, an assistant professor of pediatrics at New York University
School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center, said in an American
Academy of Pediatrics news release.
“Dosing liquid medications correctly can be especially confusing, as
parents may need to understand numerical concepts such as how to convert
between different units of measurement, like milliliters, teaspoons and
tablespoons. Parents also must accurately use dosing cups, droppers and
syringes, many of which vary in their measurement markings and the volume
they hold,” Yin noted.
These study findings “point to a need to examine whether strategies
that specifically address parent math skills can help reduce medication
errors in children,” Yin added. “In addition, recognition of the
importance of addressing numeracy skills may be helpful for health care
providers as they seek to improve their communication of medication
instructions.”
The authors said having health care providers review and give parents
pictures of dosing instruments filled to the correct amount for that
prescription may be beneficial.
Data and conclusions presented at medical meetings should be considered
preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
More information
The Nemours Foundation offers advice to parents about medication safety.
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