PurposeTo evaluate the practical utility of pharmaceutical pictograms in routine practice in community pharmacy. The primary outcome (composite endpoint) consisted of three elements: i) complete use of the whole package of medication, ii) taking the recommended dose twice a day, and iii) subjective assessment of patients’ perspective on medical information about antibiotic therapy obtained during the pharmacy consultation measured by Net Promoter Score in scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is the lowest and 10 the highest possible rating.Patients and methodsA multicenter, randomized controlled study was conducted. Community pharmacies (n = 64) which agreed to participate in the study were assigned to one of two groups: i) study – providing an antibiotic with pictograms placed on the external packaging of the medicinal product containing information about drug regimen (n = 32); or ii) control – providing an antibiotic according to usual pharmacy practice (n = 32). Two semi-structured interviews were performed. Data were collected from 199 patients with a mean age ± SD of 45.5 ± 17.0 years.ResultsIn the control group, 15.7% of participants discontinued therapy before using the whole package compared with 13.4% of participants in the study group. In the control group, 81.3% of patients reported that they always took the medication twice a day as recommended by their healthcare providers compared with 80.4% of patients in the study group. The Net Promoter Score was higher for pharmacy practice with than without pictograms (71.3% vs 51.5%, respectively, p<0.005). The chance that a patient was an advocate of pharmaceutical services (scores 9 and 10) was twice as likely in the case of pharmaceutical practice supported by pictograms (p<0.02). The composite endpoint was achieved more frequently in the population using pictograms, however this difference was not statistically significant (p<0.34).ConclusionThe pharmaceutical pictograms are readily accepted by patients and could prove to be a valuable support for pharmacists in conducting pharmaceutical care. Further representative research is needed to evaluate the true effectiveness of this solution.
IntroductionThe search for new ways to optimize the use of medications by patients has led the pharmaceutical community to promote the idea of introducing pictograms into routine practice. The main intention of pictograms is to ease patient adherence and to reduce potential risks or errors associated with the use of medications.PurposeTo evaluate a series of pharmaceutical pictograms for patient comprehension.Patients and methodsThe study was conducted in community pharmacies within a European Union country that belongs to the professional research network. Structured interviews were used to evaluate the pictograms for patient comprehension. This consisted of an assessment of the following: the transparency and translucency of the pictograms, health literacy, and pictogram recall. Participants were also given the opportunity to provide feedback on how to improve the pictograms. The primary endpoint was pictogram comprehension. Secondary outcomes included recall of the pictograms and pictogram translucency.ResultsThe study included 68 patients with whom face-to-face interviews were performed. Low transparency results (≤25%) and extensive patient feedback in initial interviews led to the withdrawal of certain pictograms (n=15) from the evaluation. Among the pictograms included in the final stage of our research, 22 pictograms (62.8%) obtained an acceptable transparency level ≥66%. All pictograms passed the short-term recall test with positive results.ConclusionA majority of the designed and modified pictograms reached satisfactory guess-ability scores. Feedback from patients enabled modification of the pictograms and proved that patients have an important voice in the discussion regarding the design of additional pictograms.
Pharmaceutical care requires a patient-centered approach, focusing on the ability of patients to understand drug-related information and follow the instructions delivered by pharmacists as well as other health-care providers included in the circle of care. With the goal of ensuring the prescribed use of medications, called medication adherence, health-care providers have to consider many risk factors such as geography (culture), social economic status, age, and low literacy that may predispose patients to non-adherence, and considerations have to be made for chronic patients living with life-long disease states. The aim of this review is to provide a balanced and comprehensive review outlining a number of different medication counselling and education approaches that have been used to try to improve medication adherence and health outcomes with the use of clear and concise graphic illustrations—called pictograms. By highlighting the current landscape of the general use and efficacy of pharmaceutical pictograms to aid in the knowledge and recall of drug-related information, as well as outlining specific medication adherence outcomes with pharmaceutical pictograms in chronic patients, the current review describes the need for health-care providers to move beyond the traditional didactic methods of oral and verbal communication with patients regarding medication-taking behavior.
Introduction: The literature describes relationships between negative emotions arising in connection with a dental appointment. Emotional processes and states thus represent factors that can considerably influence human health and oral health. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine factors related to one's mood before visiting a dental office. Material and methods: Seventy-eight first-time dental patients (40 females, 38 males; Mage = 40.7, SD = 14.4) participated in the study. The participants completed a questionnaire consisting of a demographic data questionnaire, statements measuring subjective oral health, hygiene, and patients' knowledge about the oral cavity, and standardised research tools: the Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL) and the Health Behaviour Questionnaire (HBI), prior to a dental visit. The DMFT index (DT-mean number of decayed teeth, MT-mean number of missing teeth, FT-mean number of filled teeth), Dental Treatment Index (DTI), and Approximal Plaque Index (API) were assessed during a clinical examination. Results: Hedonic tone (HT) was significantly related to number of filled teeth (FT) (p = 0.036), subjective oral hygiene (p < 0.02), and level of knowledge about the oral cavity (p < 0.01). There was a significant correlation between HT and the HBI global score (p < 0.02) and Health practices (p < 0.01). Energetic arousal (EA) was related to the level of education (p < 0.04) and subjective factors influencing mood before the visit. Conclusions: The study shows that the factors that affect one's mood before a dental visit comprise education, oral health and hygiene, and health behaviours.
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