Facilitating information acquisition for over-the-counter drugs using supplemental labels

This study examined the effect of the presence and color of a supplemental cap label on medication information acquisition and container preference. Participants were 75 elders from a retirement community who were asked to examine one of five manipulated labels on a fictitious but realistic-appearing over-the-counter (OTe) pharmaceutical product container and then to respond to questions concerning their knowledge about the medication. Later they were shown all five manipulated bottle labels and asked which they preferred in effectively communicating medication information. The five bottles differed in the use of labeled surface area and color. Two bottles, displaying labels only on the body of the bottle, served as controls. One control had only a front label, and the other control was conventionally labeled with printed information on the front, back and sides of the bottle. The three other bottles were identical to the conventionally labeled control bottle except they included a supplemental cap label that reprinted the most critical product-use information in large type on three different colored backgrounds. The results showed greater medication-related knowledge for the bottles with supplemental cap labels compared to bottles without the supplemental cap label, with no significant difference among the different colored caps. Participants indicated a strong preference for the bottles with supplemental cap labels over the two control bottles. A distinctive cap color (different from the main label color) was most preferred. Making use of extended surface areas on medication containers to print important information in a more noticeable, legible form benefits elders' knowledge about proper use and hazards.