Korean J Clin Pharm.  2015 Mar;25(1):27-33. 10.0000/kjcp.2015.25.1.27.

Readability of the Product Labelling Information of Over-The-Counter Pharmaceuticals in Convenience Store

• Kim LY
• Lee IH

• KMID: 2226398
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/kjcp.2015.25.1.27

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Since November 2012, some of over-the-counter (OTC) medications have been sold in convenience store without pharmacist' s supervision. We purposed to examine if the product labels of OTCs provide sufficient information that is appropriate for consumers who may have low health literacy.
METHODS
We compared the difficulty of words that are utilized in pharmaceutical product labels of interest (intervention) with those in the 6th grade textbook (control). Pharmaceutical products of interest were comprised of 13 OTCs which have been sold currently in convenience stores. We grouped words into the 4 levels of difficulty based on the Korean Vocabulary Classification for Education, and statistically tested words frequency in each level between OTCs and control.
RESULTS
The 13 OTC labels included lay language (easier or equal to language used in primary school) about 10% less; professional language about 10% more (p < 0.001 in all). Labels for analgesics had the longest and most difficult information, followed by common cold preparations, muscle pain relievers as plaster or cataplasma and digestives.
CONCLUSION
The 13 OTC labels might fail to provide appropriate information for safety use by consumers in terms of the difficulty level of words. The improvement of labels of OTC medications and consumer education strategies are called for safety use of OTC medications sold in convenience stores.

Keyword

health literacy; medication information; readability; OTC

MeSH Terms

Analgesics
Classification
Common Cold
Comprehension*
Education
Health Literacy
Myalgia
Organization and Administration
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Product Labeling*
Vocabulary
Analgesics
Pharmaceutical Preparations