Miscommunication between parents and child care providers: Examining medication administration in child care centers in Philadelphia

Background: Prevalence of health conditions among children is on the rise, and increasing numbers of children are being cared for outside the home, serving to emphasize the need for clear communication regarding medication administration between parents and child care providers. Aim: Using in-depth interviews, we explored the communication of medication administration between child care providers and parents in 12 child care centers (CCC) in Philadelphia. Methods: The CCC were purposely selected from a population of 120 CCC from the 12 planning analysis sections of Philadelphia. One administrator and one teacher from each CCC participated in separate face-to-face interviews. Questions were adapted from surveys used to investigate medication administration in schools. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by four reviewers. Codes found to have < 92% agreement were reexamined. Results: Through content analysis, 83% (20 of 24) of the interviewees reported a miscommunication between a parent and a child care provider; multiple reports of miscommunication were found in 17% (6) of the interviews. Examples of miscommunication included 1) lack of notification of allergic reactions, 2) providing expired medications, 3) inappropriate use of medications, 4) inconsistent medication doses, 5) different times to administer medication, 6) forgetting to provide medications, 7) not disclosing health information, and 8) proposed sharing of medications between siblings. Conclusions: There were miscommunications between parents and child care providers within these CCC. To reduce these types of miscommunications, policies and procedures of the CCC need to be examined and interventions implemented to try to minimize or eliminate miscommunications.