354 Journal of the American Pharmacists Association www.japha.org May/June 2005 Vol. 45, No. 3 RESEARCH ABSTRACT Objective: To describe community pharmacist–child medication communi- cation with respect to its magnitude, influences, and content. Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Indiana. Participants: 460 community pharmacists. Intervention: Mailed questionnaire was used for data collection. Sections included: (1) pharmacists’ practice of medication communication with children and with adults; (2) factors influencing the pharmacist’s decision to communi- cate with children about medications; (3) elements of pharmacist–parent and pharmacist–child communication; and (4) demographics. Main Outcome Measure: Daily percentage of children to whom pharma- cists talked directly about medications. Results: Response rate was 44.7% with no indications of nonresponse bias. Most respondents were staff pharmacists in chain pharmacies. On average, pharmacists reported engaging in communications about medications with 20.7% of children and 57.0% of adults on a daily basis (t = 23.5, P ≤ .0001). Experience as a preceptor and prescription volume significantly influenced the frequency of pharmacists’ communication with either adults or children. Pharmacists provided more medication information to parents than to their chil- dren, and more medication information to older children than to younger chil- dren. Children of all ages were likely to be comforted and given information about the medicine’s taste. Conclusion: Preliminary insights into the interaction between pharmacists and child patients are provided by this study. Considering the relatively low fre- quency of pharmacist–child communication, interventions aimed at influencing the child’s and caregiver’s motivation to seek information about the child’s care, and improving pharmacist’s knowledge about children’s cognitive devel- opment at various ages may enhance the involvement of children in self-treat- ment. Keywords: Communication, pediatrics, children, counseling. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2005;45:354–362. Received May 11, 2004, and in revised form July 8, 2004. Accepted for publication August 16, 2004. Wararat Nilaward, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakornnayok, Thailand. Holly L. Mason, PhD, is Professor of Pharmacy Administration and Associate Dean for Academic Programs; and Gail D. Newton, PhD, is Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. Correspondence: Wararat Nilaward, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakornnayok 26120, Thailand. Fax: 662-664-1000, ext 1519. E-mail: wararat_j@yahoo.com Disclosure: The authors declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests in any product or service men- tioned in the manuscript, including grants, employ- ment, gifts, and honoraria. Acknowledgment: To all pharmacists who participated in this study. Community Pharmacist–Child Medication Communication: Magnitude, Influences, and Content Wararat Nilaward, Holly L. Mason, and Gail D. Newton RESEARCH RESEARCH Downloaded From: http://japha.org/ on 02/04/2013