Public Health Campaigns and Medicine Use Awareness: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study investigates the medicine awareness, which can be defined as the increase in knowledge and understanding of the general public on appropriate medicine use. Objective: To identify the characteristics of Public Health campaigns that focus on medicine use and/or medicine awareness. Study Design: Systematic review focusing on pre-and post-campaign surveys. Methods: Electronic databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Global Health, and Google Scholar were searched. Articles within the last 10 years, with a focus on adults over the age of 18 were used to report findings. Results: A total of 4336 studies were reviewed after which eight were identified, which focused on medicines use and/or awareness. Most campaigns emphasized the knowledge and understanding of patients on the importance of appropriate medicine use and drew a comparison from pre-to post-campaign results. A limited number of Public Health campaigns demonstrated an increase in the level of medicines use awareness of patients. Various tools were used to portray the message across in the campaigns. These included, video, written information, face to face approaches, as well as educational games. Four studies demonstrated a statistically significant increase, in awareness of the public in regards to medication. However, the remaining studies were not successful in portraying a significant impact. Conclusion: Most campaigns demonstrated a limited increase in level of medicine use awareness in their post-campaign surveys. The results support the need for a comprehensive Public Health campaign that focuses on medicine use.