Connecting pharmacy and literacy: The North Carolina Medication Information Literacy Project

The purpose of this study was to involve pharmacy students in a project des igned to evaluate the comprehension of consumer-directed, over the counter (OTC) medication information. This project was conducted statewide in North Carolina and was coordinated through an alliance of the University of Nort h Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Pharmacy and the North Carolina Area He alth Education Centers (AHEC) Program. Two other goals of this project were to expose pharmacy students to research and provide collaborative experien ce for AHEC-based faculty. The project was implemented over a three-month p eriod during the fall of 1998 and included completion of patient comprehens ion surveys. Each study participant read an example of OTC patient instruct ions. Afterwards, students asked questions directly related to the OTC info rmation. Surveys of 878 participants were completed. A comprehension score was calculated based on eleven questions obtained from the participant resp onse form. Comprehension scores ranged between 6.7 and 8.4 using a scale th at was based on the eleven questions worth one point each. Students were al so asked to provide feedback by survey regarding how participant selection was conducted and a debriefing session allowed for discussion about project experience and improvement. This study indicates that OTC medication instr uctions are difficult to interpret for many consumers, that student partici pation in a community research project is a useful learning experience, and that geographically dispersed faculty can conduct collaborative research.