# “I mixed the medicine with milk; said it was strawberry flavored”: Parental challenges, coping strategies, and hopes in supporting childhood tuberculosis treatment adherence in Makassar, Indonesia > Arifin B. URL kanonis: https://discover.unhas.ac.id/publications/pub_scopus_105050691820 Jurnal / Konferensi: Journal of Health Psychology Tahun terbit: 2026 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053261475793 ISSN: 13591053 Kuartil SJR: Q2 Citations: 0 ## Authors - Arifin B. ## Abstract This study explored how parents in Makassar, Indonesia, support childhood tuberculosis (TB) treatment adherence amid emotional, social, and sensory challenges. Seventeen caregivers participated in the in-depth interviews. We conducted a conceptual framework-informed deductive thematic analysis, organizing the findings within seven a priori analytic domains: internal challenges, external challenges, internal coping strategies, external coping strategies, religious coping strategies, expectations of health services, and parental expectations for children and the community. Parents described difficulties with medication schedules, fatigue, stigma, and inconsistent guidance from healthcare workers. To cope, they employed practical and relational strategies: alarms, reframing medicines as "superheroes," offering treats, and prayer. Practices such as mixing medicines with milk revealed counseling gaps and risks for suboptimal adherence. Parents called for clearer communication and family-centered support, alongside hopes for recovery and freedom from stigma. These findings show that childhood TB caregiving is embodied and emotional, requiring culturally responsive and family-centered approaches. ## Keywords - Coping (psychology) - Cognitive reframing - Medicine - Thematic analysis - Health care - Clinical psychology - Health professionals - Qualitative research - Psychology - Psychiatry - Developmental psychology - Medication adherence - Nursing - Family medicine - Cognition - Tuberculosis - Embodied cognition - Alternative medicine - Early childhood --- Sumber: Discover Unhas — RIMS Universitas Hasanuddin. Saat mengutip, gunakan DOI bila tersedia atau URL kanonis di atas.