Impact of an external individual characteristics of drugs for patients’ willingness to take medicines

Abstract

Homo sapiens recognizes many different stimuli from the outside world. He recognizes stimulus through the five senses; the sense of touch, taste, hearing, sight and smell. Objects may be indentified on a basis of their unique characteristic external features, which are recognized by one or more of our senses. Patients exhibit a preference for a drugs shape, color, smell and taste. The variety of drugs makes their an external individual characteristics very different. The aim of choosing proper shape of the drugs is to gain the best pharmacologic effect. To check what kind influence “external characteristics” plays on a patients willingness to take medication, research was conducted on patients at Przychodni Społdzielni Inwalidów RENA in Rzeszow. The research was conducted through a series of anonymous questionnaires. The study group consisted of 210 partially disabled patients, who had been treated in rehabilitation, neurology, optometry and orthopedics from January to May 2006. The criteria used to select the study group, was each individuals daily use of drugs prescribed by a physician. The results of the research show that patients are willing to take p.o. drugs. Age of the patients was not im- 129 portant, although the young population preferred taste, size and shape, and the older population preferred size, taste and colour as for the external individual characteristics of drugs. Both young and old generation did not like to change the former drugs for the newer ones. Preferable for the older group of patients (because of safety and easy use) were the plastic bottles while the youngers prefer the blister wrap.