AUTHOR=Younas Eman , Fatima Moomna , Alvina Ayesha , Nawaz Hafiz Awais , Anjum Syed Muneeb , Usman Muhammad , Pervaiz Mehak , Shabbir Amara , Rasheed Huma 

TITLE=Correct administration aid for oral liquid medicines: Is a household spoon the right choice?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1084667

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1084667

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background: Correct medicine dosing is an important component in safe and effective delivery of medicines, particularly for pediatric population. However, there is scarcity of public campaigns on the correct administration and choice of dosing aids for oral liquid dosage form in many countries leading to medicine safety issues and therapeutic failures.
Methods: The study targeted the assessment of the knowledge and practice of university students. It utilizes pre-and post-intervention surveys administered through google forms as a survey tool during online zoom and in-person sessions. The intervention included a short video presentation detailing the selection, and use of medicine spoons and other aids for administration of oral liquid dosage. Fischer Exact test was used to assess pre-and post-test shift of responses.
Results: Nine-degree programs were engaged in the activity and 108 students attended this health awareness activity after obtaining formal consent. A significant decline (CI= 95%, ****p- value < 0.05) in choice of selecting tablespoon and a shift to low-volume spoon, as well as rejection of entire variety of household spoons was observed. A significant improvement in the correct naming of spoons, the meaning of the abbreviation ‘tsp’, and the correct volume of a standard teaspoon were also observed with a p-value < 0.001.  
Conclusion: A deficit in the knowledge of proper use of measuring devices for oral liquid medicines in the educated population was observed which can be enhanced through simple tools like short video presentations and awareness seminars.