We explored the association between understanding a proper use of over-the-counter cold medicines and a choice of information source to purchase such medicines. We conducted an internet survey in March 2011 regarding false perceptions about cold medicines as well as understanding of package inserts. Respondents (20〜69 years old)to the main survey were individuals who purchased cold medicines based on TV commercials (CM group) and those who purchased these medications in consultation with pharmacists (consultation group). We surveyed 121 and 159 respondents in the CM and consultation groups, respectively. We calculated the principal component scores for false perceptions of cold medicines and the respondents’ understanding of the package inserts. The median scores were 0.20 (CM group) and -0.08 (consultation group) false perceptions, and -0.18 (CM group) and 0.15 (consultation group) for understanding. The Mann-Whitney U-test revealed that the CM group had more misconceptions regarding cold medicines compared with the consultation group (P<0.001). Furthermore, the consultation group acquired greater understanding of the package inserts than the reference CM group (P＝0.005). These results suggest an association between understanding the proper use of over-the-counter cold medicines and choice sources of information on purchasing these medicines. They further suggest that a lack of knowledge or understanding of cold medicines does not lead to consultations with a pharmacist about the purchase.

In junior high school, educators with many different types of specialty jobs are involved in “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education”. Examples of these different jobs are physical education teachers, school nurses, school pharmacists. The aim of this study was to elucidate novel ideas and new directions in the future of medicine instructional education by clarifying the aims and thoughts of educators with different jobs on the education of pharmaceutical medicines and drug use. Based on the technique of Personal Attitude Construct (PAC) analysis, junior high school staff members involved in “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education” were interviewed regarding their aims and thoughts. Their responses were analyzed qualitatively. Five school pharmacists, five school nurses, and four physical education teachers were interviewed. The responses revealed that school pharmacists engaged in student education from the specialized perspective of pharmacology, school nurses engaged in student education from the perspective of imminent situations, and physical education teachers engaged in student education more from the perspective of student environment. This study suggested that “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education” should be a collaborative effort, so there were the different perspectives and aims of educators with different specialty jobs in the instruction of junior high school students on these subjects.

In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey among community pharmacists in Japan, to explore how they and the pharmacy’s management support a fellow pharmacist who has committed a medical error. Using stratified random sampling, we selected 900 pharmacies from national community pharmacies. The response rate for pharmacies was 31.7%, and we analyzed data from 572 pharmacists. It was observed that after a pharmacist committed a medical error, the subsequent treatment was relevant to the years of experience. Supervising pharmacists with little experience tended to answer that they “do not know how to get along with the colleague”. The backup to supervising pharmacists with little experience should be considerable to give care to pharmacist caused dispensing error. A few pharmacies have a support system for pharmacists concerned in an error; 38.9% of supervising pharmacists emphasized the significance of mental support. Therefore, it was suggested that concluded that head offices of pharmacies and the community pharmaceutical association should review their mental support system for pharmacists to work after committing an error.

This study examines the effect on junior high school students’ understanding and usage frequency of medicines gained from education about medicines during elementary school. This education which we provided is tailored to the developmental stage of the child. We conducted a questionnaire directed at the first year students of a junior high school in Tokyo. We compared the responses to questions regarding the understanding and correct usage frequency of medicines between groups of students who had graduated from the elementary school (Group A : students who graduated from the elementary school where we provided the education about medicines, Group B : all students except those in Group A). In order to compare these, we calculated the scores about questions regarding the understanding and correct usage frequency of medicines using principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA score for understanding of medicine by group A was higher than that of group B ; a significant difference was found (P<0.001). Therefore, this suggests that receiving education about medicines may be a factor that enhances students’ understanding of medicines. The PCA score for correct usage frequency of medicine by group A was higher than that of group B; a significant difference was found (P＝0.043). Therefore, this suggests that receiving education about medicines may be a factor that increases students’ correct usage frequency of medicines.

To consider what pharmacists can do to prevent patients from having leftover prescription drugs, we conducted a qualitative study about the various causes behind the unused drugs. We interviewed one male and four female home-care patients who had leftover prescription drugs that pharmacists detected via their home visiting service. The Grounded Theory Approach was used for analysis, and two types were identified as “exogenous factors that cause confusion for the patient” and “patient’s personal thoughts and feelings.” “Exogenous factors that cause confusion” involved eight factors, including unsuitable dosing schedule for lifestyle, complex timing for taking medicine, and inadequate support for enhancing patients’ compliance. These factors were divided into ［problems with prescription］ and ［difficult changes to manage］. In “patient’s personal thoughts and feelings,” 16 concepts were identified and their broader concepts comprised six categories: ［distrust of drugs］, ［taking a positive view about one’s own non-compliance］, ［psychological distance from medical staff］, and others. It was assumed that there would be a perception gap of compliance between patients and medical staff. Moreover, patients affirmed their poor compliance and they did not see the occurrence of leftover drugs as a problem. Additionally, psychological distance from medical staff prevents patients from consultation. Therefore, pharmacists should check patients’ compliance for each drug as well as any medical problems. Knowing patients’ inherent mind revealed by this study, the pharmacist can assist medication alongside patients and contribute to the early prevention of unused drugs.

Objectives : High and medium-dose combination hormone agents have long been used in their off-label use as oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill) are expected to be approved by the standing committee of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Council in June 1999, and are expected to be on the market by autumn, available to anyone bearing a doctor's prescription. A survey was conducted of pharmacy students to determine their acceptance and their perceptions of oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill). The results are discussed along with ways of dealing with the scientific information on the possible soon to be approved oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill), and some proposals are made for the future.
Methods : The survey was conducted by distributing questionnaire sheets to female pharmacy college students in September 1996. Of the 670 subjects, 98 responded positively to the use of oral contraceptives (the positive group), while 572 preferred not to use them (the negative group). The two groups were compared and the data was analyzed. Mantel-Haenszel test was used to evaluate demographic and background data, their views on using oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill) and ways of obtaining necessary information.
Results : In the responses to the questions on how the subjects feel about oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill), the positive group gave these reasons more frequently than those in the negative group : simple to use (p<0.001), a method with a high contraceptive rate (p<0.001), a means of contraception controlled by the woman (p<0.001). On the other hand, the reasons given more frequently by the negative group : feeling concerned about adverse drug reactions (p<0.001), a method allowing sexually transmitted diseases to propagate (p=0.009), a method increasing the burden on the woman (p<0.001).
In terms of the subjects' knowledge of oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill), although there has been some improvement observed during their four-year college life, they did not seen to understand accurate information.
Conclusion : The surveyed subjects had not understood accurate information, and this lack of knowledge may have formed their biased views on oral contraceptives (the low-dose pill). Given such results, it is anticipated that such misconceptions may affect their own decision-making in their use of the drug, and that it would cause inefficiency in providing future users with accurate information when these students become pharmacists. In the near future, there is expected to be a deluge of information concerning the low-dose pill. It is clearly necessary in pharmaceutical education to provide proper training of pharmacy students for self-education so as to increase efficiency when considering and evaluating information.

Introduction: This study examined the effectiveness of the modified Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) for preventing delirium, which was adjusted to be used in acute internal medicine wards at general community hospitals in Japan.Methods: The pre-intervention group consisted of 751 patients aged 70 years or older hospitalized at Nishiyodo Hospital and Amagasaki Medical Co-op Hospital between January and July 2013. The post-intervention group consisted of 775 patients aged 70 years or older hospitalized between March and July 2017 and between October and December 2017. To address risk factors for delirium, a multicomponent intervention (modified HELP) consisting of the following was implemented: handing out pamphlets, orientation to maintain activity levels, sleep improvement, early initiation of rehabilitation, provision of glasses, hearing aids, and dentures, and the termination of continuous intravenous infusion. The Delirium Screening Tool was used to calculate the percentage of inpatients who developed delirium.Results: Of the 751 patients in the pre-intervention group, 108 (14.4%) developed delirium and 88 (11.4%) of the 775 patients in the post-intervention group exhibited delirium (odds ratio: 0.70; 95% confidence interval: 0.48-1.01; p=0.06).Conclusion: The modified HELP, adjusted for use in Japan, did not significantly reduce the rate of delirium during hospitalization. Therefore, a more universal intervention method is needed in the future.

This study aimed to identify the messages disseminated by television commercials about over-the-counter (OTC) oral drugs for analyzing the narrative structure of contents at a view of community pharmacists. We analyzed 92 television commercials about OTC oral drugs aired by 5 key commercial broadcasting stations from April 2013 to March 2014. We did the content analysis of the transcripts of television commercials ; 20 labels and 8 categories were found. The categories were “interesting the story,” “inspired desire for symptom improvement,” “emphasized attraction of the products,” “standing as a specific cure,” “products created a state of happiness,” “information about effect-efficacy and dosage,” “showing something other than drug-induced symptomatic improvement,” and “encouraging consumers to purchase the product.” The most common used categories to start TV-CM stories were “interesting the story” or “inspired desire for symptom improvement” and to end it was “encouraging consumers to purchase the product.” The message disseminated by television commercials about OTC oral drugs might misinform consumers regarding OTC drugs and self-care. Pharmacists should communicate with consumers to clear these misunderstandings instead of simply providing information about the effect-efficacy and dosage of OTC drugs.

The purpose of this research was to clarify the factors influencing the approval or disapproval and evaluative opinions of the public concerning separation of dispensing and prescribing functions. We conducted a Web survey with 2006 participants (September 2016). We conducted multiple logistic regression analysis and quantitative analysis of freely recorded their reasons about approval or disapproval. The approval rating was 29.2％ in persons who had had some prior experience with at the pharmacies (n＝1,778) and 41.9% in participants who made regular clinic visits and always filled prescriptions at the pharmacy (n＝430). Multiple logistic regression analysis of the data of participants who visited pharmacies (n＝1,778), identified that compared to participants who experienced side effects (OR＝1.34), the frequency of used pharmacies (OR：Odds ratio＝1.47), the filling burdened by having to fill prescriptions at the pharmacy (OR＝0.19, 1/OR＝5.18), there was a significant positive association for the approval. Analysis of qualitative data of the group that approved identified many labels related to ‘quality of results’, however no labels related to ‘quality of results’ were generated in the group which disapproved. Public approval or disapproval of non-hospital based prescription is mainly determined based on the burden or inconvenience incurred (due to waiting times, mobility-incurred time and energy, inconvenience associated with travel, inconvenience of repeated visits) when filling prescriptions at the pharmacy rather than on opinions regarding the pharmacy’s drug therapy service. Measures are required to increase the level of merit compared to the burden experienced in the use of pharmacy.