Biblioteca Virtual en Salud Enfermería

This is a descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach. The general objective was to understand how parents/caregivers have their preparation for the safe administration of medication for their child at home, from their own perspective.

The specific objectives were:

to characterize parents/caregivers of hospitalized children, in the sociodemographic aspects of the family and the child's clinical condition; to apprehend aspects that facilitate and/or hinder the safe administration of medication for the child at home, from the perspective of parents/caregivers. Data collection took place with parents of children hospitalized in a hospital in the interior of São Paulo. The inclusion criterion was the child using after discharge some type of medication at home.

Parents were approached in two stages:

1) semi-structured, audio-recorded interview during hospitalization and parents were asked to provide a photographic record of the place where the children's medications were prepared; 2) semi-structured, audio-recorded interview, carried out during outpatient return or by telephone. The characterization data of the participants and of the children were double inserted into Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, and after validation, they were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The photographs contributed to understanding the home environment, considering the preparation and administration of medication for the child. The empirical data were submitted to inductive thematic content analysis. The Research Ethics Committee of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing approved the research, after approval by the hospital. Twenty-six participants were obtained, 24 mothers and two fathers; most are young, have studied for more than five years and live with a partner. Almost half called themselves "housewife". Regarding children, there was an equal distribution for both sexes; we identified higher frequency for more than two years of diagnosis; and more than three-quarters of them had been hospitalized for less than a week. The main drug classes used were antibiotic, followed by antifungal, antiemetic, analgesic/antipyretic, antihypertensive and vitamin. From the pharmaceutical presentation, more than three quarters of the drugs prescribed for use at home were liquids, followed by pills. We also identified an increased frequency of oral administration, followed by enteral and subcutaneous routes. Most parents reported instructions given by the medical team, in the patient's own room/bed. From the empirical data, three themes emerged: "The child using medication at home: feelings, challenges and organization for care", "Support to the child's family for medication care at home" and "The child and his self-care: an adaptation for safe care". The images revealed the care and attention parents give to medicines at home, generally keeping them in boxes, cabinets or benches and keeping the preparation place always clean and organized. Since there was a recurrence of guidance on the use of medications at home, immediately before hospital discharge, we reinforce the importance of structuring discharge information in a systematic and planned way, to ensure the child's safety also in the home environment. The study contributes with subsidies that highlight the relevance of training regarding the use of medicines at home by children, which will be administered by their parents and/or caregivers and/or by the children themselves.