From the patient point of view: Using eye tracking to evaluate older adult shopping behavior change with a community pharmacy OTC intervention

Background

Over-the-counter medications are an integral component of community pharmacies, providing patients with accessible options for addressing health concerns independently. However, this increases the potential for adverse drug events, particularly among older adults, due to overestimating medication safety. Pharmacy layouts, often informed by retail store principles, frequently prioritize product profitability over patient safety.

Objective

This study evaluates the impact of Senior Safe™, a physical redesign of pharmacy aisles, on older adults' visual attention during medication selection to enhance patient safety.

Methods

Senior Safe rearranged over-the-counter products based on safety designation and human factors engineering principles. Older adult participants wore eye-tracking glasses and engaged in a scenario-based simulation to measure gaze behavior during medication selection. Simulations were conducted pre- and post-intervention to analyze fixation durations within each medication safety category.

Results

Thirty-eight older adult participants completed this portion of the study. Post-intervention participants spent significantly more time fixating on Senior Safe medications (μ = 25.17 s) compared to pre-implementation participants (μ = 9.40s). Post-intervention participants also spent more time selecting OTCs overall.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates how environmental redesign influences patient visual attention behavior. These findings emphasize the role of environmental design in enhancing patient safety and support eye-tracking as an effective method for measuring patient behavior in community pharmacy settings.