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Automatic Quantification of Abbreviations in Medicine Package Leaflets and Their Comprehension Assessment

Automatic Quantification of Abbreviations in Medicine Package Leaflets and Their Comprehension Assessment

Carla Pires, Fernando Martins, Afonso Cavaco, Marina Vigário
Copyright: © 2017 |Volume: 8 |Issue: 2 |Pages: 18
ISSN: 1947-315X|EISSN: 1947-3168|EISBN13: 9781522513827|DOI: 10.4018/IJEHMC.2017040104
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MLA

Pires, Carla, et al. "Automatic Quantification of Abbreviations in Medicine Package Leaflets and Their Comprehension Assessment." IJEHMC vol.8, no.2 2017: pp.47-64. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJEHMC.2017040104

APA

Pires, C., Martins, F., Cavaco, A., & Vigário, M. (2017). Automatic Quantification of Abbreviations in Medicine Package Leaflets and Their Comprehension Assessment. International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications (IJEHMC), 8(2), 47-64. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJEHMC.2017040104

Chicago

Pires, Carla, et al. "Automatic Quantification of Abbreviations in Medicine Package Leaflets and Their Comprehension Assessment," International Journal of E-Health and Medical Communications (IJEHMC) 8, no.2: 47-64. http://doi.org/10.4018/IJEHMC.2017040104

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Abstract

Medication errors occur as a consequence of misunderstandings with abbreviations and symbols (A&S). According to pharmaceutical regulations, A&S should be avoided in medicine package leaflets (PLs). Using a sample of 531 Portuguese PLs, this study aims at: quantifying A&S in PLs, comparing how A&S were distributed, identifying non-recommended units of measure, checking whether the full meaning of abbreviations was presented, and determining educated peoples' interpretation of A&S. A computational tool was used to identify A&S. Participants' comprehension was evaluated with a questionnaire. Overall, 828 different A&S were identified. PLs of prescribing medicines contained a significantly higher proportion of A&S than PLs of over-the-counter medicines (chi-square = 13.4; p = 0.004). A&S with their meaning not fully described and units of measure with a non-recommended format were identified. Only 9.9% of the questionnaire answers were correct. Portuguese PLs may need to be revised. The software used is appropriate to checking A&S in PLs.

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