A pilot study exploring awareness among general public toward issues related to medication safety in the state of Penang, Malaysia

Context: A better understanding of medication safety ensures better health state among healthcare consumers. Aim: The study aims to assess general public awareness toward issues related to medication safety. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted among general public selected conveniently in the state of Penang, Malaysia. Materials and methods: A total of 500 respondents were approached and 476 consumers participated in the survey giving a response rate of 95.2%. Statistical analysis: Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 12.0 and descriptive statistics were reported where appropriate. Results: Majority of the respondents (n=292, 61.3%) stated that they were well aware of the possible side effects of their current medications. A total of 196 respondents (41.17%) believed that all medicines registered in Malaysia are safe to use as these medicines have no side effects. About 40.33% (n=192) of the respondents claimed that they share their unused medicines with family and friends who are having similar illness. Majority of respondents 57.7% (n=275) were satisfied with the drug information provided by the healthcare professionals. This study also found that more than 80% of the respondents (n=409) did report that they read the labels of their medication before using. Conclusions: In this study, it was revealed that there is a moderate level of public knowledge regarding medication safety. It is evident that public underestimates the risk of their medications. There is a general lack of awareness and understanding among the public especially toward side effects.