SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION FOR PAIN AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Objective: To examine over-the-counter (OTC) medication use and self-a dministration of medication among adolescents. Design: In-person surve y. Settings: Three public junior high schools in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Participants: Six hundred fifty-one junior high school students (7th, 8th, and 9th grades). Main Outcome Measures: A questionnaire regardin g OTC medication use and self-administration for head; stomach; ear an d throat; muscle, joint, and back; and menstrual pains. Results: Of th ose who reported taking medication, many adolescents (58.7%-95.9%) rep orted taking OTC medications for each pain. Medications and knowledge about medications were obtained from a variety of sources, primarily p arents. Self-administration was widespread; 58.3% to 75.9% of adolesce nts reported taking an OTC medication for pain without first checking with an adult in the previous 3 months. Self-administration of medicat ion without the knowledge of adults increased significantly from grade s 7 to 9 for all types of pain. Girls tended to self-administer medica tion more than boys. Higher levels of pain frequency and intensity wer e related to higher levels of self-administration for all pains except muscle, joint, and back pain. Adolescents reported that they began to self-administer medication between the ages of 11 and 12 years. Concl usion: Although a relatively responsible picture of self-administratio n of medication emerges, some adolescents engaged in inappropriate OTC medication use (eg, the common use of aspirin), highlighting the impo rtance of providing adolescents with correct information about these m edications.