New research looks at conversations that take place among selected parenting groups on Facebook

A study of conversations among pregnant women and new mothers on Facebook has highlighted a need for health professionals to provide clear direction on where new parents and pregnant women can access reliable and evidence based information about medicines.

The research, presented at the National Medicines Symposium in Canberra today by pharmacists from the Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra, looked at conversations that took place in selected parenting groups on Facebook.

A total of 55 de-identified posts—with a combined total of 825 responses—were analysed that related to pregnancy or children and medicines. Of these, the majority of people were asking about treatment advice for acute conditions, and the most common medications asked about specifically by name were paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Study author Sarah Smith said it was important for new mums and pregnant women to receive guidance on where to find reputable, referenced and appropriate advice, particularly online.

"We found that 19% of responses to people's posts about medicines or health conditions in pregnancy or in their children were actually classified as inaccurate," says Ms Smith.

“Of course online groups can be an excellent source of support when you’re a new parent and find yourself seeking advice in the middle of the night – and a medium like Facebook means you can connect with others in a similar situation at any time from the comfort of your home.

"However, two per cent of the responses we examined were considered potentially harmful if the person who had asked the original question went on to follow the advice offered by other parents.”

Some examples of incorrect advice included suggestions that could make the patient's condition worse, responses that recommended too frequent administration of paracetamol, or immunisation advice that was outside the recommended schedule. There were also a number of inappropriate medication suggestions for women who were pregnant and breastfeeding.

Dr Andrew Boyden, medical adviser at NPS MedicineWise, says that it's important to seek evidence-based information about medicines.

“If you are pregnant or planning to be, or caring for a child and would like to find out more about a particular medicine, talk to your health care team – your specialist, obstetrician, GP, midwife, nurse or pharmacist, and read the packaging, labels and information for your medicine (available on the NPS MedicineWise website or from your pharmacist or doctor).

You can also call NPS Medicines Line on 1300 633 424 for more information on prescription, over-the-counter and complementary medicines (herbal, ‘natural’, vitamins and minerals) from a health professional, including questions about side effects and medicine interactions. Hours of operation are Monday–Friday 9am–5pm AEST (excluding public holidays).

Promisingly, some of the Facebook responses did include a link or reference to an appropriate online medical resource or a recommendation to consult a pharmacist or GP.

"This study of discussions on Facebook has started a conversation at our hospital on how we engage with consumers of our maternity service in terms of where they can find accurate and evidence based information on medicines online,” says Ms Smith.

"We now have a much stronger focus on making people aware of the importance of finding reliable medicines information in our maternity department.

"A pharmacist now presents on these issues to our new parent education class, and we have some new patient resources in development including links to our Calvary Maternity web page that lists a number of consumer-friendly and reputable medical websites."

Source: http://www.nps.org.au/