Association of Loneliness and Health Literacy with Overuse of Over-the-counter Drugs in Patients with COVID-19 in Japan - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #health literacy
- #self-medication
- #COVID-19
- The study examines loneliness and health literacy's impact on OTC drug use among COVID-19 patients in Japan.
- Low health literacy (HLS-14 score ≤51) was linked to ignoring OTC drug package inserts (OR: 2.43).
- High loneliness (TIL score ≥6) was associated with overusing OTC drugs beyond recommended amounts (OR: 3.97).
- Research involved 377 participants aged 20-49 during the Omicron BA.5 wave, with 18% disregarding inserts and 9% overusing.
- Findings suggest communication strategies addressing both health literacy and loneliness are crucial for safe OTC medication practices.