Self-administered Questionnaire for Customers

The Use of Otc Herbal Sedatives by Pharmacy Patients – A Questionnaires-Based Survey Study

“…The vast majority (91%) of our respondents had secondary or higher education and only 9% had an elementary or vocational education. This data was similar to the Barrenberg and Garbe outcomes in the German population, also to the Calamusa outcomes in Italy, and to the Bochenek outcomes in Poland (18)(19)(20). Different results were obtained in Sweden by Hakonsen where no differences in the educational level were observed (16).…”

“…Also in the Bochenek and Wozniak-Holecka studies, a majority of patients interviewed found information about products on the leaflet (20,21). Most respondents, as reported by Calamusa, read the leaflet every time they bought an herbal medication (18). The majority of respondents buy them in pharmacies, a finding which is similar to the Swedish data (16).…”

“…The majority of our interviewees declared that they did not consider a doctorís recommendation when choosing an herbal preparation. In Italy, the most frequently cited sources of information were doctors and pharmacists (18). Also in Italy, written and mass-media sources of information about products were less commonly mentioned, in particular, the internet ñ 8.5%, while in our study more than 70% of respondents got information from the internet.…”

“…Also in Italy, written and mass-media sources of information about products were less commonly mentioned, in particular, the internet ñ 8.5%, while in our study more than 70% of respondents got information from the internet. Most of the Italian respondents were aware of the risks related to herbal preparation side effects, while Polish patients did not have that kind of knowledge and even did not inform their doctors about taking such products (18). Half of the respondents read the information on the leaflet (51%).…”