# Parental practices and perspectives on unused pediatric medications at home: A community-based cross-sectional study in Burdur-Türkiye

## TL;DR

This study in Burdur, Türkiye, finds that many parents keep unused pediatric medications at home, often leading to self-medication and improper disposal.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into parental practices and perspectives on unused pediatric medications in a specific community.

## Key findings

- NSAIDs, analgesics, and antibiotics were the most commonly unused pediatric medications found in homes.
- A significant gap exists between parents' opinions and actual practices regarding self-medication, especially for antibiotics.
- Unused medications are often improperly disposed of in household garbage, posing potential health and environmental risks.

## Abstract

Recently, many scientific studies have examined the handling and disposal practices of unused medicines in adults, but research focusing on parental management of pediatric pharmaceuticals remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to determine the practices and perspectives of parents about unused pediatric pharmaceuticals, to measure the amount of unused pediatric pharmaceuticals and to classify medicines in Burdur-Türkiye.

This study was designed as a cross-sectional study and conducted in Burdur-Türkiye. Data were collected between January 1, 2024, and January 31, 2025, using convenience sampling, with each participant visited in their household. Pharmaceuticals were classified according to both mechanism of action and ATC. Data were analyzed with SPSS v27.

The study included 227 participants and 558 unused pediatric pharmaceuticals were obtained from them. It was found that NSAIDs (21.3%), analgesics and antipyretics (14.5%) and antibiotics (12%) were the most commonly kept at home as unused medicines. It was found that the reason for keeping leftover medicines was early recovery (51.2%), that expired medicines were thrown in the household garbage (85.5%), and that the mother was the one who most often gave the medicine to the child (84.1%). In the participants’ opinion, when only the “yes” option was considered, the prevalence of self-medication was 45.8%. When the “yes and sometimes” options were combined, it was 82.4%, and the frequency was high for antipyretics, analgesics, and cold medicine, but low for antibiotics (1.3%). In participant practice, the prevalence was 58.4%, and 40.3% for antibiotics. A statistical difference was found between participants’ opinions and practices (p < 0.001), and Cohen’s k was −0.036 (95% CI: −0.215–0.137). For antibiotics, it was −0.212 (95% CI: −0.556–0.222) and p < 0.001. The volume of unused medication Median(25–75;IQR) was 56(27–80;53) ml and its percentage was 51.7% for all medications, and 43(22–69;47) ml and 47% for antibiotics (respectively). According to ATC, drugs coded R05X-Other Cold Preparations (n = 85 and 15.2%), N02BE01-Paracetamol (n = 77 and 13.8%) and M01AE01-Ibuprofen (n = 73 and 13.1%) were the most commonly unused pediatric drugs.

There are significant amounts of unused medicines at homes and the amounts of used and unused medicines are close to each other. Self-medication is a common behavior in opinion and practice among parents, and the findings regarding antibiotics are remarkable. Reported behaviors and viewpoints concerning unused medications among adults show parallels with the findings of this study regarding pediatric pharmaceuticals, which is a concerning situation. Since medication storage areas are largely accessible to children, precautions should be taken against potential risks. Information on unused pediatric pharmaceuticals should be added to trainings on drug use. Individuals, expectant mothers, pregnant women and mothers should be informed about pediatric pharmaceuticals. An economical and efficient drug take-back system should be established.