Comprehension and Attendance of Prescription Warning Labels

Abstract

Specific Aims: The purpose of this study is to determine if people who take or manage medications attend to the prescription warning labels (PWLs) and if education levels affect how they interpret these warnings. The primary hypothesis is that people without a high school degree/equivalent will have more difficulty correctly interpreting PWLs. Methods: A survey was designed to assess whether or not the general population attends to warning labels and if education levels affect how they interpret these warnings. The survey contained questions to assess PWL attendance, a quiz to assess PWL interpretation, and demographic information. Surveys were collected at Joel Valdez Main Library in Tucson, AZ from August 2013 to January 2014. For data analysis, the percentage of participants who attended to warning labels was calculated. To compare the two education groups a Chi square analysis was performed. Main Results: A total of 113 participants took the survey and 4 were excluded from analysis. The survey was completed by 55 men (51.4%) and 52 women (48.6%). The mean age of participants was 46.9 years (SD +/- 15.3). Of the participants who took and /or managed medications, 46.8 % of them attended to the PWLs. There was a significant difference in the number of correct responses between the education groups for only one of the PWLs (“external use only”) with a p-value of 0.03. Conclusion: The majority of the general public does not attend to PWLs. Education level does not significantly affect the interpretation of most PWLs.