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Consumer Likelihood to Seek Information on OTC Medicines
Jeffrey G Taylor1, Oluwasola S Ayosanmi1, Sujit S Sansgiry2
1College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.
Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 25, 2023
Summary
Consumers are not actively seeking much information before purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) medicines. This suggests a need to increase consumer motivation to access available health information for safer OTC medicine use.
Area of Science:
- Consumer Health
- Medication Adherence
- Public Health
Background:
- Public use of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines raises concerns about due diligence.
- Understanding consumer information-seeking behavior is crucial for promoting safe medication practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the likelihood and extent of consumer information seeking for OTC medicines.
- To compare information-seeking behavior for OTC medicines versus non-medicine products.
Main Methods:
- A survey was conducted in a Canadian province assessing information search likelihood (1-10 scale).
- Participants evaluated 15 product categories, including 5 OTC medicines and 10 non-medicine items.
- Data from 575 surveys (19.2% response rate) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Mean search likelihood for products ranged from 2.2 to 7.4.
- Consumers showed a higher intention to search for OTC medicines (mean=5.0) than non-medicine products (mean=4.1).
- A weak positive correlation was found between search likelihood and OTC medicine familiarity.
Conclusions:
- The likelihood of consumers searching for information before purchasing OTC medicines is not robust.
- Motivation to access available health information, rather than availability, may require attention for safer OTC medicine use.
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