Lay views about medicines: The influence of the illness label for the use of genericversusbrand

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate how different types of prescriptions using different illness labels may influence lay views about the use of generic or brand medicines. The participants were 882 Portuguese (both sexes) recruited from the general population, who completed a self-administered questionnaire. A vignette methodology was used in which different prescriptions (generic versus brand) were given for the same label (flu, hypertension, asthma and angina pectoris). The dependent variables were for each illness label: (a) the level of agreement with the prescription, (b) beliefs about the efficacy of a medicine and (c) beliefs about the relief of symptoms. There were main effects of the label and the type of prescription upon beliefs about the use of medicines. There were interactions between illness label and type of medicines. Labels which were perceived as more serious were associated with a lower belief in generic medicines. These results raise important questions concerning the need to consider illness perceptions of lay people (including perceived severity) and its relationship with perceptions of treatment for different conditions. Furthermore, these results may have implications for healthrelated behaviour in general, and in particular for communication between lay people and health professionals, prescribing behaviour, health costs and adherence to treatment.

Consumer Choice Between Common Generic and Brand Medicines in a Country with a Small Generic Market

“…7,33,34 The role of lay expertise becomes even more prominent for OTC medicines, since professional surveillance is often lacking. The survey used in this study found that patients are more aware of the symptoms that acetaminophen alleviates than they are of acetaminophen's differing brand names.…”

Patient knowledge, perceptions, and acceptance of generic medicines: a comprehensive review of the current literature

“…Patient acceptance of generic medicines according to type of medical condition has been addressed and widely discussed in many studies reported in the literature. 20,26,27,35,44,53,55,56,65,69,73,74 For example, in the study …”

“…More educated subjects were more likely to have a stronger belief in the efficacy of generic medicine (mean score 3.57±0.69 for $9 years of education, 3.80±0.57 for 12 years of education, and 3.92±0.54 for university graduates; P,0.001). 54 Figueiras et al 55 also conducted a study in Lisbon, Portugal, to determine the influence and relationship between disease type and lay views about the use of generic and brand medicines. The choice of a generic medicine versus a brand medicine was given for four illnesses, ie, influenza, hypertension, asthma, and angina pectoris.…”

“…The authors concluded that their study findings highlight an important point that needs to be taken into account, ie, the association between perception of disease severity and perception of medicines (generic versus brand). 55 Figueiras et al 56 conducted another study, also in Lisbon, to evaluate the perception of illness in patients with hypertension and its association with their belief about medicines and to investigate the relationship between disease schemata (ie, perception of illness) and the choice between brand and generic medicines. This study showed a significant interaction between illness schemata and choice of generic versus brand medicine.…”

“…The more serious the disease was perceived to be, the lower the belief in using generic medicines for treatment. 55 In a further study, Figueiras et al investigated the perception of illness in patients with hypertension and its association with their beliefs concerning generic versus brand medicines. They found a significant interaction between illness schemata (ie, perception of illness) and choice of generic versus brand medicines.…”