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Malaysian parental attitudes toward medicine use in children.

INTRODUCTION
Parental attitudes can have a significant impact on the use of medicines in children. This study aimed to investigate parental attitudes towards medicines used in children in Malaysia and the sociodemographic factors associated with it.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted among 230 parents with children aged 12 years and below in Malaysia. Data were collected between November 2020 and January 2021 through online platforms.


RESULTS
The majority of respondents were mothers (67.8%) and aged between 40-49 years (43.0%). The results showed that antipyretics were the most commonly used medicines followed by cough and cold medicines, antibiotics, and analgesics. The results further revealed that parents have neutral attitudes toward the use of medicines in children (69.90 ± 12.12 from a total score of 105), and mothers and younger parents having a significantly more positive attitude than fathers and older parents, respectively (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSION
This study provided insights into the types of medicines commonly used in children and parental attitudes towards medicines used in children in Malaysia.