Medicines are the most common intervention in most health services. People taking medicines need good quality information: to enable them to take and use the medicines effectively, to understand the potential harms and benefits, and to allow them to make an informed decision about taking them. Written medicines information is provided in some countries as a leaflet accompanying medicines, and is available via the Internet. Our review examined if written information about individual medicines can improve knowledge or attitudes, or change behaviours relating to taking a medicine.
The findings of this review were inconclusive for a number of reasons. First, because the included trials measured different outcomes in different ways, we were unable to combine their results. Second, these trials presented the written information for patients in different ways, and most did not design the leaflets in a way that made them easy to read. Third, in many cases trials were not clearly reported, so we do not know if they were carried out correctly. Despite these limitations several trials, while using different types of information and different measures, found written information improved knowledge. This is encouraging for people who want to learn about their medicines from leaflets. None of the studies showed that written information was harmful.
Future research needs to use improved methods, and needs to examine the same measures on many occasions. It is important that medicines information be well written and designed to maximise the possibility of improving knowledge. Consumers are increasingly seeking out health information, including information about medicines, on the internet, but we found no trials examining whether internet-based medicines information changed people's knowledge, attitudes, or behaviour.