彰化縣社區藥局消費者對非處方藥產品與功效認知程度探討

Study of Consumer’s Product and Efficacy Cognition of Non-prescription Drug in Community Pharmacies of Changhua County

在台灣，自我藥療意識的興起，非處方藥的使用已逐漸演變為常見的醫療保健形式，對於緩解輕微之不適症狀，非處方藥既方便又便宜。由於市面上非處方藥種類繁多，消費者常有藥物認知不足及錯誤用藥的情況，在用藥安全方面，不當的藥品選擇及使用是不可忽視的嚴重問題。因此，消費者對非處方藥的認知程度是極需探討的議題。本研究為橫斷式描述性研究，以彰化縣社區藥局消費者為主要調查對象，以配額抽樣方式進行面對面訪談收集問卷，共完成477份有效問卷。問卷內容包括基本人口學資料、非處方藥使用情形及非處方藥認知程度。研究資料以Microsoft Excel和SPSS軟體進行分析與統計。結果發現彰化縣消費者主要從藥局購買非處方藥，其主要消息來源為親友推薦。消費者最常購買非處方藥是成藥，而實際使用狀況為自己買，也會幫其他親朋好友買。消費者對於非處方藥功效認知程度比產品認知高。再者也顯示，消費者的居住區域、年齡、教育程度、罹患慢性病、月平均收入，以及非處方藥購買種類與主要動機對非處方藥認知程度有顯著影響。總體來說，研究結果顯示彰化縣社區藥局消費者具有普遍自我藥療行為，但在非處方藥的認知程度上仍有改善的空間，尤其是需要加強對消費者的正確自我藥療教育，以提高其用藥觀念和行為，降低不必要的用藥風險。

In Taiwan, the rise of self-medication awareness has led non-prescription drugs usage to become a common form of healthcare, often used to alleviate minor discomforts due to its convenience and affordability. However, the diverse range of nonprescription drugs available has resulted in situations where consumers may lack adequate medicine cognition or misuse these drugs. Improper selection and usage of non-prescription drugs pose significant safety concerns, therefore, highlighting the critical need to explore consumers' cognition of these medications. This study is a crosssectional descriptive research conducted primarily among consumers of community pharmacies in Changhua County. Using quota sampling, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect 477 valid questionnaires. The questionnaire includes the basic demographic data, the use of non-prescription drugs, and cognitive degree of nonprescription drugs. Data analysis and statistics were performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software. The results revealed that consumers in Changhua County, primarily purchased non-prescription drugs from pharmacies, whereas the main information sources of non-prescription drugs were recommended by relatives and friends. The most commonly purchased non-prescription drugs were over-the-counter drugs, with consumers often purchasing for themselves and sometimes for others. The consumers had a higher level of efficacy cognition of non-prescription drugs than product cognition. Moreover, it also indicated significant influences on the cognitive level of non-prescription drugs, including the consumer’s living area, age, education, chronic disease, monthly average income, as well as the purchase type and main motivation of non-prescription drugs. Overall, these results indicated that consumers generally had self-medication behavior in community pharmacy of Changhua County, but there is still room for improvement in their cognition of non-prescription drugs. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen consumers’education on correct self-medication practices to improve their medication concepts, behaviors, and reduce the risk of unnecessary medication.