Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Attitudes towards medication use in a general population of adolescents

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Pediatrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adolescents are becoming more independently responsible for their medication regimen; therefore, adolescence is a crucial period to address medication beliefs, as many of the beliefs may persist into adulthood and can impair adherence and willingness to continue a prescribed therapy. Within this study, we aimed to explore adolescents’ general perceptions towards medicines. Adolescent students attending secondary schools in the Netherlands were invited through the school’s virtual learning environment to fill in an online questionnaire. Medication beliefs were assessed using the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire—General assessing general harm and general overuse beliefs. Within a 2-week period, 434 adolescent students responded to the questionnaire; 47.2 % thought that doctors overprescribed medication, and 20.5 % perceived medication as harmful in general. Being religious was associated with stronger harm (odds ratio (OR) 2.0, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.2–3.2) and overuse beliefs (OR 1.4, 95 % CI 0.9–2.1). Adolescents of native background had less concerns about overuse (OR 0.4, 95 % CI 0.2–0.8). Adolescents who actually consulted physicians had lower overuse beliefs (OR 0.6, 95 % CI 0.4–1.0). Conclusion: Adolescents more strongly believe in the general overuse of medicines than in general harm. Religious and ethnic background influence medication beliefs, as does previous experiences with the health-care system. Gaining more insight in adolescent patients’ medication use behavior and identifying patients at risk for negative medication beliefs associated with poor adherence in clinical practice might be a first step towards a lifelong good medication use.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ahmedani BK, Peterson EL, Wells KE, Rand CS, Williams LK (2013) Asthma medication adherence: the role of God and other health locus of control factors. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 110(2):75–79.e2. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2012.11.006

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Archer TM (2007) Characteristics associated with increasing the response rates of web-based surveys. Pract Assess Res Eval 12:12

    Google Scholar 

  3. Christie D, Viner R (2005) Adolescent development. BMJ 330:301–304. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7486.301

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Couriel J (2003) Asthma in adolescence. Paediatr Respir Rev 4(1):47–54

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. De Maria C, Lussier MT, Bajcar J (2011) What do children know about medications? A review of the literature to guide clinical practice. Can Fam Physician 57(3):291–295

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Dean AJ, Walters J, Hall A (2010) A systematic review of interventions to enhance medication adherence in children and adolescents with chronic illness. Arch Dis Child 95:717–723. doi:10.1136/adc.2009.175125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Desai M, Oppenheimer JJ (2011) Medication adherence in the asthmatic child and adolescent. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 11:454–464. doi:10.1007/s11882-011-0227-2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Haller DM, Sanci LA, Sawyer SM, Patton G (2008) Do young people’s illness beliefs affect healthcare? A systematic review. J Adolesc Health 42:436–449. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.09.013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hilliard ME, Wu YP, Rausch J, Dolan LM, Hood KK (2013) Predictors of deteriorations in diabetes management and control in adolescents with type 1 diabetes. J Adolesc Health 52:28–34. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.009

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Horne R (2006) Compliance, adherence, and concordance: implications for asthma treatment. Chest 130:65S–72S. doi:10.1378/chest.130.1_suppl.65S

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Horne R, Weinman J, Hankins M (1999) The beliefs about medicines questionnaire: the development and evaluation of a new method for assessing the cognitive representation of medication. Psychol Health 14:1–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Hyden C, Cohall A (2011) Innovative approaches to using new media and technology in health promotion for adolescents and young adults. Adolesc Med State Art Rev 22:498–520

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Koster ES, Wijga AH, Koppelman GH, Postma DS, Brunekreef B, De Jongste JC, Smit HA, Hoekstra MO, Raaijmakers JA, Maitland-van der Zee AH (2011) Uncontrolled asthma at age 8: the importance of parental perception towards medication. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 22:462–468. doi:10.1111/j.1399-3038.2011.01150.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. KyngAs HA, Kroll T, Duffy ME (2000) Compliance in adolescents with chronic diseases: a review. J Adolesc Health 26:379–388

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Lotstein DS, Seid M, Klingensmith G, Case D, Lawrence JM, Pihoker C, Dabelea D, Mayer-Davis EJ, Gilliam LK, Corathers S, Imperatore G, Dolan L, Anderson A, Bell RA, Waitzfelder B, SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study Group (2013) Transition from pediatric to adult care for youth diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in adolescence. Pediatrics 131:e1062–e1070. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-1450

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Marcell AV, Halpern-Felsher BL (2005) Adolescents’ health beliefs are critical in their intentions to seek physician care. Prev Med 41:118–125. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.10.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. McDonagh JE, Bateman B (2012) ‘Nothing about us without us’: considerations for research involving young people. Arch Dis Child Educ Pract Ed 97:55–60. doi:10.1136/adc.2010.197947

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Menckeberg TT, Bouvy ML, Bracke M, Kaptein AA, Leufkens HG, Raaijmakers JA, Horne R (2008) Beliefs about medicines predict refill adherence to inhaled corticosteroids. J Psychosom Res 64:47–54. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.07.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Orrell-Valente JK, Jarlsberg LG, Hill LG, Cabana MD (2008) At what age do children start taking daily asthma medicines on their own? Pediatrics 122:e1186–e1192. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-0292

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Park J, Nachman S (2010) The link between religion and HAART adherence in pediatric HIV patients. AIDS Care 22:556–561. doi:10.1080/09540120903254013

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Phatak HM, Thomas J III (2006) Relationships between beliefs about medications and nonadherence to prescribed chronic medications. Ann Pharmacother 40:1737–1742. doi:10.1345/aph.1H153

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Porteous T, Francis J, Bond C, Hannaford P (2010) Temporal stability of beliefs about medicines: implications for optimising adherence. Patient Educ Couns 79:225–230. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2009.07.037

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Rand CS, Apter AJ (2008) Mind the widening gap: have improvements in asthma care increased asthma disparities? J Allergy Clin Immunol 122:319–321. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.07.004

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. SFK (2011) Geneesmiddelen bij kinderen in een notendop [Medicines for children in a nutshell]. Pharm Weekbl 146:12

    Google Scholar 

  25. Slack MK, Brooks AJ (1995) Medication management issues for adolescents with asthma. Am J Health Syst Pharm 52:1417–1421

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Sobal J, Klein H, Graham D, Black J (1988) Health concerns of high school students and teachers’ beliefs about student health concerns. Pediatrics 81:218–223

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Spurr S, Berry L, Walker K (2013) The meanings older adolescents attach to spirituality. J Spec Pediatr Nurs 18:221–232. doi:10.1111/jspn.12028

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Steinbeck K, Baur L, Cowell C, Pietrobelli A (2009) Clinical research in adolescents: challenges and opportunities using obesity as a model. Int J Obes (Lond) 33:2–7. doi:10.1038/ijo.2008.263

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Stoelben S, Krappweis J, Rossler G, Kirch W (2000) Adolescents’ drug use and drug knowledge. Eur J Pediatr 159:608–614

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Sutter E, Klein JD (2007) Internet surveys with adolescents: promising methods and methodologic challenges. Adolesc Med State Art Rev 18:293–304

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Taddeo D, Egedy M, Frappier JY (2008) Adherence to treatment in adolescents. Paediatr Child Health 13:19–24

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge T. Hosman, C. Hakkers, and L. Nelemans for their efforts in collecting the data. The Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology employing E.S. Koster, E. R. Heerdink, and M. L. Bouvy has received unrestricted funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMW), the Dutch Health Care Insurance Board (CVZ), the Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association (KNMP), the private–public-funded Top Institute Pharma (www.tipharma.nl) (includes co-funding from universities, government, and industry), the EU Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), the EU Seventh Framework Program (FP7), the Dutch Ministry of Health and Industry (including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and others).

Conflict of interest

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Ellen S. Koster, Eibert R. Heerdink & Marcel L. Bouvy

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Medical Centre Leeuwarden, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

    Tjalling W. de Vries

  3. Division of Pharmacoepidemiology & Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, PO Box 80082, 3508TB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Ellen S. Koster

Authors
  1. Ellen S. Koster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eibert R. Heerdink
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tjalling W. de Vries
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Marcel L. Bouvy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ellen S. Koster.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Koster, E.S., Heerdink, E.R., de Vries, T.W. et al. Attitudes towards medication use in a general population of adolescents. Eur J Pediatr 173, 483–488 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-013-2211-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-013-2211-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation