Though Health literacy (HL) is considered crucial to patients’decision making concerning medical treatment,it is notclear how patients utilize counseling services provided by community pharmacists to improve their HL.
Among 101 outpatients at Saga Medical School Hospital who completed a questionnaire,those who were aware of their HLproblems were identified,and factors associated with these patients were analyzed by logistic regression.The resultsshowed that 52.5% of the patients were aware of their HL problems,40.4% of whom (OR=6.6,95% CI=1.55-28.47)had received explanations concerning prescription drugs at pharmacies but not concerning their illness or treatment.Factorssignificantly correlated with the patients who were aware of their HL problems were“no particular pharmacy used regularly”(OR=3.9,95% CI=1.09-14.00),“underlying cancer”(OR=3.8,95% CI=1.15-12.83),“unsatisfactory explanationby community pharmacist”(OR=5.8,95% CI=1.02-32.8citation=1)and“strong wish to receive medical information from pharmacies”(OR=3.5,95% CI=1.05-11.54).They also had a significantly great desire be provided with“information supplementalto physician’s explanation”and“cautions and advice for everyday life”,as well as information on“selection and use ofmedical institutions”,and“care and welfare services available”.Taken together,these findings indicate that patients who areaware of their HL problems are not fully utilizing community pharmacists’counseling services and not satisfied with theservices provided.
Therefore,the role of community pharmacists should not be limited to dispensing ; it is also important for them to contributeto patients’HL and everyday medical treatment by providing medical and welfare information,enhancing patients’understanding of such information,and providing guidance on appropriate services.
