Maternal Self Medication for Cough and Cold Symptoms in Children Under Five in Tosaren Indonesia: A cross sectional study of reported frequency and exploratory correlates
Main Article Content
Hasan Ismail
Hanik Mariana Dewi
Fidi Setyawan
Background: Caregiver initiated medication use for childhood cough and cold symptoms warrants attention because treatment decisions involve young children. This study described self-medication frequency in a selected community sample and explored five proposed maternal correlates.
Methods: An observational cross-sectional survey was conducted in Tosaren urban village, Kediri City, Indonesia, on 2–16 June 2025. Convenience sampling recruited 102 mothers of children aged 0–59 months. The stated eligibility criteria included prior self-medication for the child’s cough or cold symptoms. A structured questionnaire assessed knowledge, socioeconomic status, attitude, ease of obtaining medicines, lifestyle and self-reported medication frequency. The source analysis used Spearman correlations and an ordinal logistic model.
Results: Of 102 respondents, 87 (85.3%) selected always, 10 (9.8%) often, four (3.9%) infrequently and one (1.0%) never. Each proposed predictor had an identical reported distribution of 83 respondents in the good category and 19 in the moderate category. The source reported correlation coefficients from 0.417 to 0.513, but the coefficient–p-value pairs require verification. The regression report did not provide coefficients, effect sizes, confidence intervals or model diagnostics; independent associations therefore cannot be established from the available report.
Conclusion: Frequent self-medication was reported within this selected sample, but these proportions are not community prevalence estimates. The proposed correlates remain exploratory pending verification of measurement, eligibility and statistical output. Product-level studies are needed to assess the appropriateness and safety of the reported practices.
Ahmed, N., Ijaz, S., Manzoor, S., & Sajjad, S. (2021). Prevalence of self-medication in children under-five years by their mothers in Yogyakarta city Indonesia. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 10(8), 2798–2803. https://doi.org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_2457_20
Alonso-Castro, A. J., Ruiz-Noa, Y., Martínez-de la Cruz, G. C., Ramírez-Morales, M. A., Deveze-Álvarez, M. A., Escutia-Gutiérrez, R., Carranza-Álvarez, C., Domínguez, F., Maldonado-Miranda, J. J., & Ruiz-Padilla, A. J. (2022). Factors and practices associated with self-medicating children among Mexican parents. Pharmaceuticals, 15(9), Article 1078. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph15091078
Duborija-Kovacevic, N., Martinovic, M., Belojevic, G., Lausevic, D., & Asanin, B. (2020). Maternal education, health profession and cigarette smoking are decisive factors for self-medication in children by parents. Acta Pharmaceutica, 70(2), 249–257. https://doi.org/10.2478/acph-2020-0018
Ge, J., Sun, X., Meng, H., Risal, P., & Liu, D. (2021). Factors associated with self-medication in children and the decomposition of rural-urban disparities in China. BMC Public Health, 21, Article 2123. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12137-1
Green, J. L., Wang, G. S., Reynolds, K. M., Banner, W., Bond, G. R., Kauffman, R. E., Palmer, R. B., Paul, I. M., & Dart, R. C. (2017). Safety profile of cough and cold medication use in pediatrics. Pediatrics, 139(6), Article e20163070. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-3070
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. (2014, December 11). Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/over-the-counter-cough-and-cold-medicines-for-children
Pitaloka, D. A. E., Insyirah, A., Oktariani, A. N., Mardhiyyah, C. A., & Alfarafisa, N. M. (2025). Parental knowledge, attitude, and practice on self-medication of antibiotics for children in Bandung, Indonesia: A questionnaire-based survey and module-based learning intervention. BMC Pediatrics, 25, Article 687. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-06084-8
Pitaloka, D. A. E., Kusuma, I. Y., Insyirah, A., Oktariani, A. N., Pratiwi, H., & Alfarafisa, N. M. (2023). Development and validation of questionnaire to measure parents’ knowledge, attitude, and practice on self-medication of children with antibiotics in Bandung, Indonesia. Infection and Drug Resistance, 16, 6111–6120. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S426313
Siponen, S. M., Ahonen, R., Kiviniemi, V., & Hämeen-Anttila, K. (2013). Association between parental attitudes and self-medication of their children. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 35(1), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-012-9715-2
Sun, C., Hu, Y. J., Wang, X., Lu, J., Lin, L., & Zhou, X. (2019). Influence of leftover antibiotics on self-medication with antibiotics for children: A cross-sectional study from three Chinese provinces. BMJ Open, 9(12), Article e033679. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033679
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Use caution when giving cough and cold products to kids. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/safe-use-over-counter-otc-medicines-children/use-caution-when-giving-cough-and-cold-products-kids
Ukwishaka, J., Umuhoza, C., Cartledge, P., & McCall, N. (2020). Pediatric self-medication use in Rwanda – A cross sectional study. African Health Sciences, 20(4), 2032–2043. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v20i4.61
von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007). The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies. PLOS Medicine, 4(10), Article e296. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040296
Yin, H. S., Parker, R. M., Sanders, L. M., Dreyer, B. P., Mendelsohn, A. L., Bailey, S., Patel, D. A., Jimenez, J. J., Kim, K.-Y. A., Jacobson, K., Hedlund, L., Smith, M. C. J., Maness Harris, L., McFadden, T., & Wolf, M. S. (2016). Liquid medication errors and dosing tools: A randomized controlled experiment. Pediatrics, 138(4), Article e20160357. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-0357
