Rahul Malhotra1,2, Mary Ann C Bautista1, Ngiap Chuan Tan3, Wern Ee Tang4, Sarah Tay5, Audrey Siok Ling Tan6, Annie Pouliot7, Seyed Ehsan Saffari8, Choy-Lye Chei1,2, Regis Vaillancourt7. 1. Health Services and Systems Research, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. 2. Centre for Ageing Research and Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore. 3. Department of Research, SingHealth Polyclinics, Singapore. 4. National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, Singapore. 5. Clinic Pharmacy, SingHealth Polyclinics, Singapore. 6. Regional Health, National Healthcare Group Headquarters, Singapore. 7. Pharmacy, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada. 8. Centre for Quantitative Medicine, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In Singapore, primarily English-language prescription medication labels challenge elderly Singaporeans, many of whom are unable to read English. We investigated whether bilingual text and pictograms can help them understand prescription medication labels. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We randomized 1,414 elderly respondents of a national survey into four prescription medication labels: English-text; English-text-and-pictograms; Bilingual-text; and Bilingual-text-and-pictograms, which were similar except for the addition of another language and/or pictograms (International Pharmaceutical Federation, FIP). Respondents answered 16 label-related questions; an expert panel rated answers for correctness. Outcomes were (1) complete understanding (16 correct); (2) any understanding (≥1 correct); and (3) number of incorrect answers among those with any understanding. We evaluated associations of each prescription medication label (vs. English-text) with outcomes (1), (2), and (3) using logistic and negative binomial regression, respectively. RESULTS: The elderly respondents were similar across the four prescription medication labels (English-text, English-text-and-pictograms, Bilingual-text, Bilingual-text-and-pictograms), for which the proportions with outcomes (1) and (2) were (17.9%, 25.6%, 36.9%, 40.1%) and (50.4%, 62.6%, 75.9%, 76.5%), respectively. We observed statistically significant higher odds of outcomes (1) and (2) among those assigned the three labels (vs. English-text): English-text-and-pictograms, 1.96 and 2.51; Bilingual-text, 3.54 and 6.73; and Bilingual-text-and-pictograms, 4.51 and 7.93. Those assigned the three labels also had 0.94, 1.98, and 2.12 fewer outcome (3) on average (vs. English-text). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Adding bilingual text with or without pictograms on prescription medication labels considerably improved elderly Singaporeans' understanding of the labels, strongly suggesting its application in practice. Other issues in prescription medication labels design and content, including adapting FIP pictograms for elderly Singaporeans, warrant further investigation.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In Singapore, primarily English-language prescription medication labels challenge elderly Singaporeans, many of whom are unable to read English. We investigated whether bilingual text and pictograms can help them understand prescription medication labels. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We randomized 1,414 elderly respondents of a national survey into four prescription medication labels: English-text; English-text-and-pictograms; Bilingual-text; and Bilingual-text-and-pictograms, which were similar except for the addition of another language and/or pictograms (International Pharmaceutical Federation, FIP). Respondents answered 16 label-related questions; an expert panel rated answers for correctness. Outcomes were (1) complete understanding (16 correct); (2) any understanding (≥1 correct); and (3) number of incorrect answers among those with any understanding. We evaluated associations of each prescription medication label (vs. English-text) with outcomes (1), (2), and (3) using logistic and negative binomial regression, respectively. RESULTS: The elderly respondents were similar across the four prescription medication labels (English-text, English-text-and-pictograms, Bilingual-text, Bilingual-text-and-pictograms), for which the proportions with outcomes (1) and (2) were (17.9%, 25.6%, 36.9%, 40.1%) and (50.4%, 62.6%, 75.9%, 76.5%), respectively. We observed statistically significant higher odds of outcomes (1) and (2) among those assigned the three labels (vs. English-text): English-text-and-pictograms, 1.96 and 2.51; Bilingual-text, 3.54 and 6.73; and Bilingual-text-and-pictograms, 4.51 and 7.93. Those assigned the three labels also had 0.94, 1.98, and 2.12 fewer outcome (3) on average (vs. English-text). DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Adding bilingual text with or without pictograms on prescription medication labels considerably improved elderly Singaporeans' understanding of the labels, strongly suggesting its application in practice. Other issues in prescription medication labels design and content, including adapting FIP pictograms for elderly Singaporeans, warrant further investigation.
Keywords:
Access to and utilization of services; Asian and Pacific Rim older adults; Diversity and ethnicity; Evidence-based practice; Health literacy; Medications/prescriptions; Survey design