title: The evaluation of pharmaceutical pictograms in a low-literate South African population.
abstract: An inability to read and understand written medication instructions may be a major contributory factor to non-compliance in certain patient populations, particularly in countries with a high illiteracy rate such as South Africa. Twenty three pictograms from the USP-DI and a corresponding set of 23 locally developed, culturally sensitive pictograms for conveying medication instructions were evaluated in 46 Xhosa respondents who had attended school for a maximum of 7 years. Respondents were tested for their interpretation of all 46 pictograms at the first interview and again 3 weeks later. The correct meaning of each pictogram was explained at the end of the first interview. Preference for either the Local or USP pictograms was determined. At the follow-up interview, 20 of the Local pictograms complied with the ANSI criterion of >/=85% comprehension, compared with 11 of the USP pictograms. Respondents indicated an overwhelming preference for the Local pictograms.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa. r.dowse@ru.ac.za
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dowse
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ehlers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001296:Audiovisual Aids / Q000592:standards*; D003116:Color; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012646:Self Administration / Q000379:methods; D013019:South Africa; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires