Consumers' Risk Perceptions of Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications

Abstract

Background:

Flawed judgments about medication risks potentially jeopardize efforts to protect the public. It has been shown that positive risk/benefit perceptions by patients and providers lead to better patient outcomes, higher acceptance of drug therapy, and higher adherence rates.

Objective:

To explore consumers' level of familiarity with 10 best-selling over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drug products, correlate familiarity with risk perceptions regarding those agents, and ascertain common sources of information regarding the medications studied.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the major metropolitan tri-county area of south Florida using a facilitator-administered survey instrument. Data collection involved asking consumers about the extent to which they agreed with statements related to risk perceptions, familiarity, and sources of information for 10 best-selling medications. Participants were recruited from a convenience sample of 1,035 south Florida residents.

Results:

When ranking the drugs by familiarity, 972 respondents reported a higher level of familiarity with OTC than prescription medications. Overall, prescription agents were perceived to be riskier than OTC products (p < 0.01); however, individual respondents tended to perceive the listed drugs as either risky or not regardless of their OTC or prescription status. Direct-to-consumer advertisements were mentioned most frequently as information sources.

Conclusions:

As shown in this study, marketing status, provider interaction, and effects of an undefined health risk are variables that contribute to consumers' decision-making regarding the medication use process.

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