Insights into Parental Behavior: Self-Medication Patterns with antibiotics for Child Health

Objectives: The alarming trend of self-medication with antibiotics in children, exacerbated by factors such as easy access to medications and insufficient awareness of the consequences, presents a critical health concern. This study aims to understand the behavior of parents on self medicating their children with antibiotics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in the community under UHTC of IGIMS, Patna among 173 parents having children <12 years of age for a period of 12 months. Participants were selected through simple random sampling and were interviewed using a questionnaire developed by the authors. Data were compared using logistic regression and presented with odd ratios and confidence intervals. Result: Prevalence of self medication was 31.8% in this study. Higher prevalence was seen among mothers, parents between 30-39 years, graduates (p = 0.001), having family income 20000-40000, housewives and those who do not have Ayushman card. Mothers, parents ≥40 years, having Secondary/ Higher secondary education, not having Ayushman card and those having childs age of 7-9 years normally stop giving antibiotics when their child start feeling better. Whereas postgraduates parents (p = 0.000) and participants having family member in medical field were seen keeping antibiotic stock at home for later use. 39.9% parents could identify antibiotics correctly. Majority of the parents wait for 1-2 days before starting antibiotic. Most common reason for self medication was minor illness followed by previous experience with similar symptoms. Conclusion: Lack of essential knowledge about medicines among parents is a serious matter particularly when children are concerned. Interventions targeted at improving awareness about antibiotic misuse, resistance and adverse effects amongst parents involved in self-medication need to be implemented on large scale. Keywords: Self-medication, Antibiotic, Children, Parents, Behavior ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study started after receiving approval (Letter No./807/IEC/IGIMS/2022) from the Institutional Human Ethics Committee and the Dean of Research at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors