Impact of a child care educational intervention on parent knowledge about appropriate antibiotic use.

BACKGROUND Parent education is an integral component to promoting judicious antibiotic use. Opportunities to educate parents directly are limited. Child care providers are in a position to relay information to parents. METHODS A group-randomized trial assessed the impact of a child care center staff intervention on parental knowledge and attitudes regarding appropriate antibiotic use. A 9-point knowledge score and 3 attitude items were measured. RESULTS Surveys were returned by 151 (51%) of 298 intervention center parents and 150 (42%) of 361 control center parents. Intervention center respondents were significantly more likely than control center respondents to be college graduates, non-Hispanic white, and insured. Among college graduates, the median knowledge score was 7.0 at intervention centers and 6.5 at control centers (P<0.01). No significant differences were found in knowledge scores among noncollege educated parents (P=0.11). After adjusting for clustering within child care centers, multivariate analysis demonstrated high knowledge score was associated with white race (P=0.02), being a college graduate (P=0.02), and being in the intervention group (P=0.06). CONCLUSION An appropriate antibiotic use program for child care providers promotes better knowledge among parents of children aged <5 years, particularly among highly educated parents.