Patients' Experiences and Preferences for Medicine Information: An International Comparison Between Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and England

Pitchaya Nualdaisri; Sarah A Corlett; Immaculate Akaso; Barbra Katusiime; Freddy Eric Kitutu; Siew Siang Chua; Janet Krska

doi:10.2147/PPA.S444891

Patients' Experiences and Preferences for Medicine Information: An International Comparison Between Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and England

Patient Prefer Adherence. 2024 Jan 23:18:239-248. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S444891. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Pitchaya Nualdaisri^{1

2}, Sarah A Corlett^{2

3}, Immaculate Akaso⁴, Barbra Katusiime⁵, Freddy Eric Kitutu⁴, Siew Siang Chua⁶, Janet Krska²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Thailand.
² Medway School of Pharmacy, Universities of Kent and Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent, UK.
³ Pharmacy Department, Medway Foundation NHS Trust, Kent, UK.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
⁵ School of Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Department of Pharmacy, Kingston University, London, UK.
⁶ School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor's University, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: Verbal and written medicine information are available to the public but the quality, ease of access, ease of understanding and use of these resources varies greatly between countries. Timely access to quality medicine information is essential to support patient safety.

Objective: This international cross-sectional survey, conducted in low-to high-income countries, aimed to compare experiences of and preferences for medicine information sources among respondents with recent medicine use.

Methods: The survey was originally developed in England (Kent), then adapted and translated for use in southern Thailand (Songkhla), Malaysia (Klang Valley), and central Uganda (Kampala). Data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics and Chi-squared tests.

Results: A total 1588 respondents were involved in the study. Community pharmacies were the primary source of medicines in all four countries (40.7 to 65.3%). Most respondents (1460; 92%) had received at least one form of information with their medicine, but provision of written medicine information (WMI) varied between countries. A manufacturer's leaflet was the most frequent information source for patients in England, while verbal information was common in Thailand, Malaysia and Uganda. There was commonality across countries in the desire for verbal information with or without WMI (1330; 84.8%); aspects of medicine information wanted most frequently were instructions on medicine use (98.3%), indication (98.2%), name (94.4%) and possible side effects (94.3%); and the importance of providing leaflets with all medicines (87.5%). Fewer than 10% in Uganda would use internet based WMI, compared to between 20% and 55% elsewhere.

Conclusion: Preferences for medicine information are similar across countries: verbal information is seen as most desirable, and the most wanted aspects of information are common internationally. Accessibility and understandability are key influences on preferred information sources. In-country regulations and practices should ensure that all medicine users can access the information necessary to maximise safe medicine use.

Keywords: cross-country comparison; international survey; medicine information sources; patient information leaflets; patient preference.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a Royal Thai Government Ph.D. Scholarship for Pitchaya Nualdaisri.