Almost one in five responses to pleas for medical advice posted on Canberra mothers’ Facebook groups were inaccurate a two month study by Calvary Public Hospital staff has found.
Two per cent of the responses would have likely caused harm if the advice had been followed Friday’s National Medicines Symposium in Canberra was told.
Children’s Panadol: How much do parents really know?
The symposium was told while more and more consumers were turning to “Dr Google” and online support groups for medical advice, 74.6 per cent of participants in a recent survey on the subject said their searches were guided by advice from health professionals.
“Even for consumers who do not think they need help, 57.4 per cent were still open to health professionals providing support,” Kenneth Lee of the University of Tasmania said.
Judy Mullan, of the University of Wollongong, said one surprising gap in parent’s knowledge was about the use of Children’s Panadol.
The drug, currently the subject to a nationwide recall due to a contamination scare, was the topic of an online “SurveyMonkey” study in September and October last year.
Ms Mullan said 174 people had responded to the 20 item questionnaire. Of these 93.7 per cent were female and 86.2 per cent were well educated. The average age was 36 years.
“Approximately a quarter of the respondents [26.4 per cent] did not know the recommended maximum daily dose [for Children’s Panadol],” she said.
“Over a third [37.4 per cent] did not know liver toxicity could result from overdose and almost half [46 per cent] did not know how many days in a row the recommended dose could be safely given.”
Ms Mullan said the gaps in knowledge “left children susceptible to adverse drug events”.
She recommended better communication between health professionals and consumers and improved product labelling.
The Canberra Facebook mothers’ groups study was carried out by Sarah Smith, Megan Arnold and John Wsol of Calvary Public Hospital’s pharmacy department.
“Posts in selected Facebook groups that related to medications and medical conditions were examined,” they said.
“The groups and pages had a combined membership of over 2700 members [and] all were Canberra specific.”
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen were the most commonly asked about medications [at five per cent and four per cent respectively]. Coughs and colds were the most commonly asked about conditions at 14 per cent. Skin conditions came a close second at 11 per cent with pain relief running third at six per cent.
The researchers said the study had led to a rethink about how they worked with parents.
“It has led to a number of in-services being delivered to maternity staff on finding medicines information online, specifically focussing on resources address the [main] topics of interest [identified by the study],” they said in a joint presentation.
“A pharmacist now presents on these issues to our `new parent’ group education class [and] a number of resources are also in development including a scannable QR code that will link to the Calvary Maternity home page which lists a number of consumer friendly and reputable medical websites.”
The researchers said potentially harmful posts had included inappropriate advice on immunisation and responses that would have led to the over administration of Panadol if it had been followed.
“There were also a number of inappropriate medication suggestions for women who were pregnant or breastfeeding.”
The conference was told social media was a two edged sword given it gave anyone a forum to ask questions and share information about medications and health care experiences.
“There is a definite need for healthcare professionals to provide clear direction on where new parents and pregnant women can access reputable, referenced and appropriate advice, particularly online,” the Calvary researchers said.