Pharmacists' Attitudes Towards Pediatric Cough and Cold Products and Behind the Counter Status

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Safety and efficacy issues regarding over-the-counter cough and cold (CAC) products for use in children have surfaced. Late in 2007 the FDA began reviewing CAC product status for use in children under 6 years old. OBJECTIVE In regards to CAC products for children < 6 years old, to determine pharmacists: 1) comfort level in recommending; 2) attitudes towards behind-the-counter (BTC) status; and 3) level of support for BTC status. An additional objective was to determine how frequently pharmacists were asked for CAC product recommendations for children METHODS Georgia Pharmacy Association members (2,045) were invited to anonymously participate in a self-administered online survey from January 3 – Feb 6, 2008. Topic areas included demographics, comfort in recommending CAC, and BTC status. RESULTS Most responding pharmacists (99.1%) feel pediatric CAC medicine safety problems are due to inappropriate use. More than 50% of chain and independent pharmacists were asked to recommend CAC medici...