Abstract
BACKGROUND: Considering children's sensitive and developmental needs, pediatricians play a pivotal role in ensuring rational use of medicines (RUM), alongside healthcare systems, pharmacists and patients. AIM: To assess pediatric residents' attitudes toward RUM in three Izmir hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: The attitude of pediatric residents at three tertiary hospitals in Izmir toward RUM was assessed using the Scale for Determining Family Physicians' Attitudes on RUM. Independent variables included sociodemographic characteristics, prescribing practices, and RUM-related education. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test, One-Way ANOVA, and Linear Regression. RESULTS: The study included 187 participants with a 98.9% coverage rate. Pediatric residents prescribed an average of 2.4 ± 0.7 medicines, with only 12.8% prescribing injectables. The most common source of prescribing information for residents is application programs (84.5%). Pediatric residents excelled in explaining diseases (91.5%) and treatments (93.1%), though only 52.9% believed patients understood the information, and 49.7% sometimes prescribed medications upon request. Most (89.8%) considered treatment feasibility, but only 46.6% frequently accounted for costs. While 93.6% avoided prescribing without examination, only 23.6% knew medication prices, and 41.2% reported occasional influence from pharmaceutical promotions. Participants scored an average of 3.6 ± 0.3 on the total RUM attitudes scale. Multivariate analysis showed that the scale mean was 0.018 points higher for those using peer-reviewed publications and 0.012 points higher for those reporting adverse effects, while it was 0.024 points lower for those relying on pharmaceutical promotional resources (p < 0.05), explaining 17.3% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Pediatric residents in Izmir show a positive attitude toward RUM, excelling in communication and prescribing, though gaps persist in cost-awareness, evidence use, and managing external influences. Targeted education focusing on cost-conscious prescribing and the critical appraisal of information sources is necessary. Implementing active monitoring and feedback systems can further promote adherence to RUM principles, ensuring safer and more effective pediatric care.