Medication Knowledge, Safe Use of Medicines and Health Literacy in Southern Taiwan: A Cross-section Study

Introduction: There was a high prevalence of non-prescribed medicine usage in Taiwan the reasons for this phenomenon may be the false advertisements on underground radio programs that exaggerate the efficacy of non-prescribed medicines combined with inadequate medication knowledge and the high prevalence of adverse self-medication of Taiwanese people. As the result, it is critical to investigate the health literacy in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between medication knowledge, safe use of medicines and health literacy in southern Taiwan.

Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was used in the study. A total of 513 residents were recruited and 87 of these were excluded because of invalid data, giving a response rate of 83.0%. Data were collected from February to August 2013.

Results: From 426 residents who participated in the study, 60.6% were women. The mean age of study participants was 45.8±5.2 years and the majority of them (38.7%, N=165) were between 31-50 years old. Health literacy was positively associated with medication knowledge (r =.520, p<.01) and safe use of medicines (r =.643, p<.01). Medication knowledge was positively related to safe use of medicines (r =.378, p<.01).

Conclusion: Medical knowledge and safe use of medicines affect health literacy. Residents with appropriate medical knowledge, reduce adverse self medication behaviors, and promote health literacy.