Teenagers' and parental individual needs for side effects information and the influence of nocebo effect education

Objectives: When developing a policy on how information about medication and its side effects (SE) should be provided in pediatrics, it is crucial to know individual needs. This paper investigates teenagers' and parental attitudes on information on SE, before and after education on the nocebo effect (NE).

Methods: This multicenter survey study included 226 teenagers (12-18 years) and 525 parents of patients (0-18 years). Questions assessed demographics, clinical characteristics and attitudes towards the amount of SE information before and after the explanation of NE.

Results: Before NE education, 679 (93 %) participants preferred to receive SE information: 337 (45 %) about all possible SE and 360 (48 %) desired specific information (i.e., severe, common, visible, or long-term SE). After NE explanation, significantly more participants (58 %) wished to receive information about all possible SE (p < .001). When explaining SE, teenagers preferred positive framing more than parents (64 % vs. 54 %, p = .043).

Conclusions: Most teenagers and parents wish to receive extensive SE information, even after explaining the NE, but variances in individual needs exist.

Practice implications: This study emphasizes the importance of tailor-made communication strategies for providing information on medications to parents and their children.