Non-compliance with drug treatment and reading difficulties with regard to prescription labelling among seniors.
BACKGROUND; The link between experiencing difficulties in reading or understanding and non-compliance with drug treatment among seniors is not clearly established.


OBJECTIVE
We measured the effect of both difficulties in reading, as well as difficulties in understanding prescription labelling, on non-compliance with drug treatments among seniors. Since the use of a pill organizer prepared by a pharmacist may compensate for the problems in reading, we also checked the potential modifying effect of the use of a pill organizer on these two associations.


METHODS
Data on non-compliance with drug treatment, comprehension of prescription labelling and on the factors potentially linked to non-compliance, were collected during face-to-face interviews with 325 seniors.


RESULTS
In all, 126 respondents (38.8%) were not able to read all the prescription labels and 218 (67.1%) did not fully understand all the information. 153 respondents were non-compliant with their drug treatment. After adjusting for sex, age, living alone or not, having had help with taking the medication, use of a pill organizer, having had sufficient funds to procure his medicine during the previous month, belief in the efficacy of his medication, perception of his state of health, satisfaction with physician-given and pharmacist-given information, as well as the complexity of the treatment, the two associations remained statistically non-significant. The use of a pill organizer was not a modifying factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results did not demonstrate the existence, among seniors, of an association between non-compliance and difficulty in reading and understanding prescription labelling.
Moisan
Jocelyne
J
Groupe de recherche en épidémiologie, Faculté de pharmacie, Hôpital du St-Sacrement du CHA, Université Laval, 1050 chemin Ste-Foy, Québec, G1S 4L8 Canada. Jocelyne.Moisan@pha.ulaval.ca
Gaudet
Michel
M
Grégoire
Jean-Pierre
JP
Bouchard
Réjeanne
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000592:standards*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011932:Reading; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014785:Vision, Ocular