TAILORING labels on prescription medicines to the needs of patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can boost medicines safety, a study reveals.
Researchers from the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy found that linguistically enhanced labels (LELs) and linguistically and graphically enhanced labels (LAGELs) improved comprehensibility of instructions compared with standard labels.
The study, published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, noted that LELs offered patients directions in their native language and in English, with numbers presented numerically, rather than spelt out, as per standard labels, while LAGELs also used graphics to highlight important directions.
"This study has highlighted opportunities for improvement in delivery of the integral service of pharmacist-affixed prescription medicine labels to patients of non-English-speaking backgrounds within a predominantly English-speaking country, such as Australia," the authors said.
"The findings of this study affirmed that linguistic expressions used, as well as the graphic representation of prescriber directions influence comprehensibility, and that dual enhancements including both language modification and graphic representation, were particularly beneficial for more complex medicine use instructions.
"Study findings clearly highlighted that tailoring medicine labels to accommodate for patients' needs is an essential part of cultural and linguistic adaptation within healthcare.
"The enhanced labels investigated in this study represented a beneficial adjunct to pharmacist interactions with low English proficiency patients that can improve communication and are potential prototypes that can ensure medicine use instructions are correctly comprehended.
"Since comprehension of medicine use instructions is an important factor, albeit only one of many others, that can influence compliance and patient outcomes, there is potential for these labels to provide longer-term benefits too, for low English proficiency patients.
"This has implications for future directions in Australian pharmacist dispensing practice."
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 28 Jun 22
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 28 Jun 22
