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 codeveloped 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 or 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 or 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 or 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 or 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. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement Alessandro Andreucci has been funded by Helsefonden (grant number 21-B-0097). The funders had no role in the study design, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: Ethics committee/IRB of Region North Jutland waived ethical approval for this work Ethics Committee for Region North Jutland waived ethical approval for this work I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors