Tatiane da Silva Dal Pizzol1, Cassia Garcia Moraes2, Paulo Sérgio Dourado Arrais3, Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi4, Luiz Roberto Ramos5, Mareni Rocha Farias6, Maria Auxiliadora Oliveira7, Noemia Urruth Leão Tavares8, Vera Lucia Luiza7, Sotero Serrate Mengue9. 1. Medicines Production and Control Department, Pharmacy College and Post Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 2. Moinhos de Vento Hospital - Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. 3. Pharmacy Department, Pharmacy, Odontology and Nursering College, Universidade Federal do Ceará - Fortaleza,CE, Brazil. 4. Social Medicine Department. Medicine College, Universidade Federal de Pelotas - Pelotas, RS, Brazil. 5. Preventive Medicine Department, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo - São Paulo, SP, Brazil. 6. Pharmaceutical Sciences Department, Health Sciences Center, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - Florianópolis, SC, Brazil. 7. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. 8. Pharmacy Department. Health Sciences College, Universidade de Brasília - Brasília, DF, Brazil. 9. Post Graduate Program in Epidemiology of Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The written information on medicines has been acknowledged as an important tool for health education. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the use and understanding of medicine package inserts by users and assess sociodemographic and medical factors associated with their comprehension. METHOD: Data in this analysis are part of the PNAUM National Survey - a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Brazil. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson χ2 tests were performed to compare proportions between sociodemographic and medical characteristics, as well as use and understanding of medicine package inserts. RESULTS: A total of 28.427 individuals responded to questions related to medicine package inserts. From these, 59.6% (95%CI 57.7 - 61.5) said they usually read the inserts, and 98.4% (95%CI 98.0 - 98.8) considered them necessary. Among people who read the medicine package inserts, more than half indicated difficulties with legibility (57.4%; 95%CI 55,2 - 59,6) and readability (54.1%; 95%CI 52.1 - 56.1). People from a lower education level reported greater difficulty in understanding them. CONCLUSION: The larger portion of the population usually read medicine package inserts. Nevertheless, people have difficulty in reading and understanding them.
INTRODUCTION: The written information on medicines has been acknowledged as an important tool for health education. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the use and understanding of medicine package inserts by users and assess sociodemographic and medical factors associated with their comprehension. METHOD: Data in this analysis are part of the PNAUM National Survey - a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Brazil. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson χ2 tests were performed to compare proportions between sociodemographic and medical characteristics, as well as use and understanding of medicine package inserts. RESULTS: A total of 28.427 individuals responded to questions related to medicine package inserts. From these, 59.6% (95%CI 57.7 - 61.5) said they usually read the inserts, and 98.4% (95%CI 98.0 - 98.8) considered them necessary. Among people who read the medicine package inserts, more than half indicated difficulties with legibility (57.4%; 95%CI 55,2 - 59,6) and readability (54.1%; 95%CI 52.1 - 56.1). People from a lower education level reported greater difficulty in understanding them. CONCLUSION: The larger portion of the population usually read medicine package inserts. Nevertheless, people have difficulty in reading and understanding them.
Authors: Eva Débora de Oliveira Andrade; Amanda de Sousa Rebouças; José Q Filho; Ramya Ambikapathi; Laura E Caulfield; Aldo Ângelo Moreira Lima; Bruna Leal Lima Maciel Journal: Matern Child Nutr Date: 2022-08-15 Impact factor: 3.660
Authors: Eduardo Sánchez-Sánchez; Fátima Lucía Fernández-Cerezo; Jara Díaz-Jimenez; Manuel Rosety-Rodriguez; Antonio Jesús Díaz; Francisco Javier Ordonez; Miguel Ángel Rosety; Ignacio Rosety Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-21 Impact factor: 3.390