Patient Characteristics Influencing Evaluation of Written Medicine Information: Lessons for Patient Education

BACKGROUND:Written medicine information (WMI) is considered an important component of patient education. Despite the wealth of information on many aspects of WMI, there is a paucity of studies examining how patient characteristics influence use and evaluation of WMI.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the influence of patient characteristics on the evaluation and intended future use of consumer medicine information (CMI), a form of WMI.METHODS:A questionnaire was administered to patients from 3 rheumatology/pain clinics in teaching hospitals and 40 community pharmacies. The questionnaire examined patients' perceptions of CMI (comprehension, perceived usefulness, design rating) and likelihood of using CMI in the future. Information on patient characteristics (demographic data, health literacy level) was also collected. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine associations between patient characteristics and their evaluation and intended future use of CMI.RESULTS:A total of 479 patients participated. Comprehen...