What do children know about medications? A review of the literature to guide clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE To guide physicians in their communications with children about medications. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from 1980 up to August 2009 for qualitative and quantitative research that investigated children's knowledge of and beliefs about medications (levels of evidence II and III). Findings presented relate to healthy children aged 6 to 12 years old unless stated otherwise. MAIN MESSAGE In order to improve children's use of medicine, experts suggest that physicians communicate directly with children about medications, instead of communicating only with parents or caregivers. Children as young as 6 years old form opinions about medications, and many of these opinions persist in the adult population. This article reviews what we know about how children identify medication; children's fear of medication; how they believe medication works; and their understanding of the medication-related concepts of medication efficacy, side effects, and treatment compliance. This knowledge will help physicians communicate more effectively with children about their medications. CONCLUSION Family physicians can help children understand why they take medicine and how to use it appropriately starting at an early age. This early training might affect their medication-taking behaviour throughout their adult lives. Studies in Canada are needed to further understand children's beliefs about medication and to see if these beliefs correlate with international data.