Adolescents’ knowledge of pain medication – can a specific teaching program in primary school improve knowledge and attitudes toward the use of pain medication?

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate how a specifically designed teaching program for adolescents on the subject of “pain medication” affects their knowledge and attitudes regarding pain medication. Methods This prospective interventional study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The teaching intervention was co-developed with end-users. Adolescents completed a questionnaire at 3 time points: 1) at baseline before the teaching intervention, 2) immediately after the intervention and 3) at follow-up after approximately 1-2 months, depending on the schools’ availability. A qualitative component with interviews on a subsample of participants was carried out between baseline and the 1-2 months follow-up. Results Nine classes, corresponding to 181 adolescents with a median age of 14 were exposed to the teaching intervention. 22% used pain medication at least once a week at baseline. Their baseline knowledge regarding the mechanism of action, side effects, dosage, and alternative methods to treat pain was low. Their levels of knowledge improved after the teaching intervention and we observed higher levels of knowledge and less uncertainty. However, despite the immediate positive effect, the retainment of knowledge was slightly reduced at the 1–2-month follow-up. Discussion Our intervention increased the overall knowledge on pain medication and reduced the adolescents’ uncertainty. However, the retainment of knowledge was reduced after 1–2-month follow-up. Future interventions carried out on a longer time-span and with the inclusion of parents and delivery of online material might be designed to improve retainment of knowledge.