A Pilot Study to Evaluate Pharmaceutical Pictograms in a Multispecialty Hospital at Dehradun

Pharmaceutical pictograms have the potential to play an important role in optimizing compliance in the illiterate patient population. Pictograms may improve warning comprehension for those with visual or literacy difficulties and can sometimes be recognized and recalled far better than words. The main purpose of this study is to determine whether these pictograms can be effectively understood by illiterate patients, who otherwise cannot read the instructions given on their prescription order. In this study, 10 pharmaceutical pictograms were evaluated in patients attending the outpatient department of the Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital, a multispecialty, referral hospital in Dehradun (Uttarakhand). Understanding of pictograms by patients before and after interpretation was noted and follow-up interpretation was also noted. Results of the study showed that prior to explanation, the majority of the patients were unable to interpret the pictograms correctly but after explanation of their meaning, interpretation by them showed a marked improvement, indicating the need of using pictograms along with verbal reinforcement. The study also highlighted poor patient follow-up, a major cause of patient non-compliance, often leading to a poor therapeutic outcome of the prescribed medication order. Such problems can be taken care of by an active participation by healthcare professionals.

Key words: Illiterate, interpretation, patients, pictograms.