conclusions our results suggested that the prevalence of prescription drugs, alcohol and illicit substance use was relatively low, though still significant, among iranian students, which was strongly associated with family and friends’ use. the findings of this research can be used for planning and evaluating interventions by considering the risk factors and protective factors in universities. ...

medication errors and adverse drug events can bring about hospitalization, permanent injury, or death. patients due to lack of adequate understanding of instruction may unintentionally misuse a prescribed medicine. the aims of the study were to examine whether patients with low back pain were correctly able to understand physician's instructions regarding drug use and also to identify influenci...

Background: Although prescriptions are dispensed at discretion of medical professionals, many pharmaceutical companies use direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising to increase sales. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are similarly marketed. Methods: We examined the content of advertisements in 38 issues of 9 popular US women's fashion magazines. We evaluated target audience, health condition, prod...

BACKGROUND Generic drugs (GDs) offer a way to reduce health spending without sacrificing quality. Despite this, there are doubts as to their acceptance by the population. This work aims to assess perceptions of GDs among the Brazilian population. METHODS We conducted a national household survey face-to-face between April and May 2013, with 5000 individuals aged over 15 years. The questions ex...

Exorbitant price increases for critical off-patent medicines have received considerable media attention in recent months, leading to an investigation by the U.S. Senate. However, much of this attention has focused upon the companies that initiated the price increases, all of whom had recently acquired the drugs in question. Overlooked are upstream interventions with the originators of these dru...

BACKGROUND Federal regulations specify that print advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products must provide a true statement of information "in brief summary" about each advertised product's "side effects, contraindications, and effectiveness." Some of the current approaches to fulfilling the brief summary requirement, although adequate from a regulatory perspective, result in ...

The use of psychoactive prescription drugs (PPDs) by young people is part of a broader worldwide trend towards the consumption of pharmaceuticals to improve social, emotional, and sexual performance. Few studies have examined how young people use PPDs in developing countries, where off-label use is likely to be greater due to weaker market controls. This study presents our findings on PPD use a...

OBJECTIVES To assess the impact of physician awareness to promote the prescription and the dispensing of generic drugs at hospital discharge. METHODS The study consisted in a Before/After Study design including the analysis of medical prescriptions at hospital discharge, after a pharmaceutical intervention to physicians in a geriatric ward. Each drug was classified according to its terms of p...

OBJECTIVES Our analysis assessed the impact of information on patients' preferences in prescription versus over-the-counter (OTC) delivery systems. METHODS A contingent valuation (CV) study was implemented, randomly assigning 534 lay people into the receipt of limited or extended information concerning new influenza drugs. In each information arm, people answered two questions: the first aske...

OBJECTIVE To identify medication use patterns among elderly people residing in areas with different socioeconomic status in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. METHODS A total of 668 elderly (aged 60 years or older) residing in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, selected from a multistage random sampling stratified by socioeconomic status (higher, intermediate, and lower areas), were interviewe...