Outreach program to teach safe medicine use to middle school children

FDA Consumer, Nov-Dec, 2006 by Michelle Meadows

The MIMH Lesson

An MIMH teacher's kit, available online, contains an MIMH booklet, a slide presentation, classroom materials, a home activity, and assessment tools. There is also supplemental background information about FDA drug regulation and links to other consumer resources on OTC medicines.

Some of the learning objectives for students are identifying the active ingredients in an OTC drug product and understanding the purposes and uses. Students also practice reading directions on medicine bottles and recognizing the warnings sections on the Drug Facts Label. For example, students learn that two medicines with the same active ingredient should not be used at the same time.

Cooney says that her students manipulated medicine packages and showed that they could find information on the label. "This hands-on experience ensures students can apply the demonstration materials to actual medicine bottles," Cooney says. Students also learned the importance of using measuring tools that are made specifically for medicine. Household spoons vary in volume and may not measure an accurate dose for medicine. Cooney's students measured salt with a teaspoon from the kitchen drawer and also measured salt with medicine measuring tools. They noted the difference in the measured quantities and discussed the potential effects of incorrect measuring and dosing.

In addition to emphasizing the importance of reading labels, the lesson stresses the need for involving a parent or guardian in decisions about medicine use. Students can do activities at home to teach their families what they learned in class.

Expanding the Reach

There are plans for other counties in Maryland to implement the MIMH program in their schools, Feibus says. The MIMH materials are designed to be a national educational resource for schools and community groups interested in teaching students and families about safe medication use.

Additional Web materials are under development and will provide a lesson geared toward adult and caregiver audiences, as well as more interactive activities to reinforce and enhance the MIMH concepts. An MIMH mailbox has been set up online to receive suggestions and feedback from health educators and community leaders who use the program. Since the site is growing and changing, a listserv has been set up so visitors to the site can receive notification when new materials are posted.

The NCPIE is helping to build program awareness and to distribute materials through its coalition members. "Our member health care professional organizations, including physician, pharmacy, and nursing groups, are being urged to encourage their members to reach out in their local communities to get MIMH conducted in middle schools in their area," says Ray Bullman, executive vice president of the NCPIE.

"Better informed consumers of any age can lead to better medicine use and better outcomes," Bullman says. "Reading the OTC Drug Facts Label, and knowing when and how to ask a parent and health care professionals for assistance when it comes to taking medicines the right way, are skills that will serve the MIMH target audience well throughout their lives."