Study: Parents with Poor Math Skills More Likely to Give Incorrect Dosages of Medication
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A new study reveals that parents with poor math skills are more inclined than others to give the wrong dosages of medicine to their children, Health Day reports.
Out of the study’s 289 parents, who had children younger than eight years old and had been prescribed a short course of liquid medication after visiting a pediatric emergency center, 83 percent had poor math skills, and 27 percent had math skills at the third-grade level or below, according to Health Day.
Researchers found that parents with math skills at or below the third-grade level were almost five times more likely to give incorrect dosages of medication than parents with math skills at the sixth-grade level or higher, says Health Day. Overall, 41 percent of the parents made mistakes.
The study is being presented on Saturday at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Boston.
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