The Role of Health Literacy and Written Medicine Information in Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drug Risk Awareness
- 26 January 2010
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Annals of Pharmacotherapy
- Vol. 44 (2), 274-284
- https://doi.org/10.1345/aph.1m479
Abstract
Background: Despite widespread use of prescription nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), patients are commonly unaware of their risks. Pharmacies regularly distribute written medicine information (WMI) describing the risks and benefits of NSAID therapy at the time of dispensing. Objective: To clarify the relationship among common sociodemographic factors, education, health literacy, reading of WMI routinefy distributed at pharmacies, and NSAID risk awareness. Methods: Generalized linear latent and mixed models (GLLAMM) ordered logistic regression and confirmatory path analysis were used to evaluate multivariable relationships in a cross-sectional dataset of 382 patients in the second phase of the Alabama NSAID Patient Safety Study. Results: The majority of the analytical sample was female (72.0%) with 38.7% African American, 38.1% age 65 years or older, and 43.3% reporting at least some college education. Health literacy was positively associated with reading of WMI (p = 0.001) and NSAID risk awareness (p = 0.025), while age was negatively associated with reading WMI (p = 0.001) and NSAID risk awareness (p = 0.005). Medicaid/uninsured status was negatively associated with risk awareness (p = 0.013). Reading of WMI was not associated with NSAID risk awareness (p = 0.659). The final path model demonstrated excellent fit. Conclusions: The lack of relationship between reading of WMI and NSAID risk awareness questions the current strategy of distribution of patient-targeted print education materials at pharmacies. To maximize limited resources, future research should identify more effective strategies to deliver risk information to patients and ensure its retention, especially in high-risk groups such as the elderly, the indigent, and those with inadequate health literacy.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Dispensing errors and counseling quality in 100 pharmaciesJournal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2009
- Educating Patients About Their Medications: The Potential And Limitations Of Written Drug InformationHealth Affairs, 2007
- A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative research on the role and effectiveness of written information available to patients about individual medicinesHealth Technology Assessment, 2007
- Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory DrugsPublished by Elsevier BV ,2007
- Patients’ knowledge of adverse reactions to current medicationsBritish Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2006
- Expert and Consumer Evaluation of Patient Medication Leaflets Provided in U.S. PharmaciesJournal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2005
- Patient Self-Management: A Key to Effectiveness and Efficiency in Care of Chronic DiseasePublic Health Reports®, 2004
- Awareness and Use of Over-the-Counter Pain MedicationsSouthern Medical Journal, 2002
- Counseling Patients About Prescribed MedicationMedical Care, 1997
- ASHP guidelines on pharmacist-conducted patient education and counselingAmerican Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 1997