Evaluation of Written Medicine Information: Validation of the Consumer Information Rating Form

BACKGROUND:The Consumer Information Rating Form (CIRF) was developed as a direct method for measuring consumers' perceptions of the comprehensibility, utility, and design quality of written medicine information. The validity and reliability of the CIRF were evaluated in a small convenience consumer sample in the US. Its validity and reliability have yet to be established in a larger sample of consumers who are on chronic therapy in different settings.OBJECTIVE:To determine the validity and reliability of the CIRF in Australian consumers on chronic therapy.METHODS:Consumers read and subsequently evaluated a Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet for one of their own medications, using an adapted version of the CIRF. The construct validity and internal reliability of the adapted version of the CIRF were tested using principal components analysis (PCA) and Cronbach's α, respectively.RESULTS:The adapted CIRF was completed by 282 consumers (aged 19–90 y; median 66; interquartile range 53–75 y; 60.3% femal...