Over-the counter (OTC) medicines are used commonly for treating minor illnesses. Even though most Canadians believe that OTC medicines are safe and effective, they can pose some risk through side effects and interactions if people do not take them with due care. With notable exceptions, people in Canada can purchase OTC medicines from pharmacies or non-pharmacy outlets such as convenience stores. Global trends in medicine-related legislation are leading to more of these products ending up in retail outlets other than pharmacies. Therefore, understanding public attitudes involving OTC medicine is becoming more and more important. Public expectations of OTC medicines in relation to location of sale were investigated in this study. It was hypothesized that the product buying public would perceive medicines differently based on where they are sold. <p>Adult Saskatoon residents over 18 years old (n = 2547) were randomly selected from a telephone registry. Advance letters were initially mailed to them, followed by a ten page questionnaire and two reminder letters. Non-response letters were only sent to subjects who did not reply after two reminders. Subjects were asked to indicate what attributes (effectiveness, safety, potency, side effect propensity, price, etc.) they would expect from OTC medicines depending on where they were purchased pharmacies versus convenience stores. The usable response rate was 57.5 percent. Almost every participant (96.1 percent) had bought OTC medicines from pharmacies. Most respondents (80.7 percent) were aware that OTC medicines could be purchased in convenience stores; however, only 42.2 percent of respondents had purchased OTC medicines from such locations. Significantly different expectations for the two locations were seen for product variety and quality, price, and ability to get help. Pharmacies should have a better selection of products and be of better quality than these OTC medicines sold in convenience stores. Public expectations for OTC product potency, safety, effectiveness, propensity for side effects, and package information did not differ across locations. The findings of this study suggest that location of sale has minimal effect on Saskatoon residents expectations of OTC medicines along clinical attributes. Saskatoon residents also appear to have healthy attitudes regarding OTC medicines and realize care is needed during their use. This may have implications in how people use such products after they are purchased and may be important for how they are scheduled for the Canadian marketplace.

Over-the counter (OTC) medicines are used commonly for treating minor illnesses. Even though most Canadians believe that OTC medicines are safe and effective, they can pose some risk through side effects and interactions if people do not take them with due care. With notable exceptions, people in Canada can purchase OTC medicines from pharmacies or non-pharmacy outlets such as convenience stores. Global trends in medicine-related legislation are leading to more of these products ending up in retail outlets other than pharmacies. Therefore, understanding public attitudes involving OTC medicine is becoming more and more important. Public expectations of OTC medicines in relation to location of sale were investigated in this study. It was hypothesized that the product buying public would perceive medicines differently based on where they are sold. <p>Adult Saskatoon residents over 18 years old (n = 2547) were randomly selected from a telephone registry. Advance letters were initially mailed to them, followed by a ten page questionnaire and two reminder letters. Non-response letters were only sent to subjects who did not reply after two reminders. Subjects were asked to indicate what attributes (effectiveness, safety, potency, side effect propensity, price, etc.) they would expect from OTC medicines depending on where they were purchased pharmacies versus convenience stores. The usable response rate was 57.5 percent. Almost every participant (96.1 percent) had bought OTC medicines from pharmacies. Most respondents (80.7 percent) were aware that OTC medicines could be purchased in convenience stores; however, only 42.2 percent of respondents had purchased OTC medicines from such locations. Significantly different expectations for the two locations were seen for product variety and quality, price, and ability to get help. Pharmacies should have a better selection of products and be of better quality than these OTC medicines sold in convenience stores. Public expectations for OTC product potency, safety, effectiveness, propensity for side effects, and package information did not differ across locations. The findings of this study suggest that location of sale has minimal effect on Saskatoon residents expectations of OTC medicines along clinical attributes. Saskatoon residents also appear to have healthy attitudes regarding OTC medicines and realize care is needed during their use. This may have implications in how people use such products after they are purchased and may be important for how they are scheduled for the Canadian marketplace.

This research has been undertaken to evaluate factors with an association with the practice of self-medication amongst respondents living within three cities within Kurdistan. The research was designed to be a cross-sectional one by arranging for data collection through the direct interviewing of respondents via the use of a questionnaire that had been prepared previously. In total, the investigation involved 627 pharmacist participants, 647 general participants, and 28 interviewees from various age groups. An explanatory design is a mixed methods approach with two phases, with quantitative data collection in the first phase, and qualitative data collection in a second; data collection was conducted using a non-probability convenience sampling technique. The primary reason for self-medication practice was that participants with previous experience of attending to the same disease. The information source regarding self-medicated drugs were previous prescriptions, community pharmacies and friends. The most common indication for self-medication was the common cold or fever/headache/infection, the drugs used to treat these conditions being most commonly antibiotics, then painkillers and preparations for coughs. From the general public, a sample of 647 participants was taken that consisted of 38.4% females and 61.6% males, with participant ages ranging from 18-70 years. Within the study, 12.4% of the cohort had a degree level of education from a university. Moreover, 243 participants had the belief that it was an acceptable practice to purchase antibiotics without a prescription. Self-medication was practiced by 14/28 of the interviewees, and 28/28 (100%) of the interviewees held the belief that the pharmacy always has someone with knowledge of medicines, and who can advise and provide medication. There were 627 pharmacist participants, of which 28.1% were female and 71.9% were male, and 57.2% of them holding a Diploma in Health Institution, and 39.2% of them having a Bachelors Pharmacy degree. 20.7% of participants disagreed with keeping records for the dispensing of drugs, and approximately 20% of participants had little or no ideas regarding the characteristics of pharmacy practice that are considered professional. It was discovered that, if asked by the customer, advice was provided by 82.5% of community pharmacists. The sale of antibiotics was the most common, followed by pain-killers. A 95.5% proportion of pharmacists sold all of the medicines as OTC medicine without prescription. In conclusion, medicines are used by the people of Kurdistan in an inventive way, with suggestions provided by lay people and members of family or friends, which is acted upon without a qualified healthcare professional being consulted.