259793 Medication Administration in Child Care: A Comparison of State Child Care Center Regulations with National Health and Safety Standards

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Sarah Viall, MSN, PNP-BC , Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, CT
Angela A. Crowley, PhD, APRN, PNP , School of Nursing, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Background: Approximately 12 million children in the U.S. are enrolled in early care and education (ECE) programs. About 9% of the children have special health care needs, and 86% require medication. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that programs make accommodations for inclusion. However, medication administration in ECE poses health and safety risks for children. State child care regulations play a critical role in reducing these risks. Method: The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to review the 50 state and D.C. child care center regulations (N=51) and compare with medication administration standards in Caring for Our Children (CFOC)– National Health and Safety Performance Standards: Guidelines for Out-of-Home Child Care Programs, 3rd edition (CFOC). A data collection instrument, which included the seven standards directly related to medication administration in ECE, was developed and reviewed by a team of national experts to measure compliance of state regulations with the standards. Results: None of the states' regulations (N=51) met the criteria for all seven standards. Most of the states (98%) met some criteria for standards on medication administration (98%), labeling, storage, disposal (98%), contents of medication record (98%), and maintenance of records (84%). However, only a few states' regulations included some of the criteria for training of caregivers (27%), a medication policy (22%), and records of injury (12%). Conclusions: Most state child care regulations do not meet CFOC standards to ensure safe medication administration to children in ECE programs. Implications for children's health and safety and policy recommendations will be discussed.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1) Describe how state regulations for medication administration in child care centers compare with national health and safety standards. 2) Discuss the potential impact of state child care center regulations for medication administration on children’s health and safety and policies which could strengthen such regulations.

Keywords: Child Care, Medicine

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conducted this research in a graduate school setting along with a faculty advisor who is a national expert on child care and co-author of this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.