ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2020
Generic versus brand-name over-the-counter analgesics: knowledge and attitudes among Swedish pharmacy customers.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Tough versus soft regulations to promote generic medications in Italy.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Frequent use of prescription NSAIDs among people with knee or hip osteoarthritis despite contraindications to or precautions with NSAIDs.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2024Article
- Identifying Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) Users Among People with Osteoarthritis Through Administrative and Clinician-Reported Data - A Validation Study of 116,162 Patients.Clinical epidemiology · 2023Article
- The self-medication behaviors of residents and the factors related to the consideration of drug efficacy and safety-A cross-sectional study in China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Consumers' Perception of Generic Medicines and Evaluation of In Vitro Quality Control Parameters of Locally Manufactured Paracetamol Tablets in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study.BioMed research international · 2021Article
- Dispensing and Variabilities in Pricing of Headache OTC Medicines by Community Pharmacies in a German Big City: A Simulated Patient Approach.ClinicoEconomics and outcomes research : CEOR · 2021Article
- Intra-Individual Variability in Self-Reported Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Medicines Depending on Mode of Data Collection - Observations from the Population Study of Women in Gothenburg, Sweden.International journal of general medicine · 2021Article
- Electroacupuncture Versus Auricular Acupressure Versus WaitliSt Control for Endocrine Therapy-Related Joint Pain in Patients With Breast Cancer (EASE): Study Protocol for a Pragmatic Multicenter Randomised Controlled Trial.Integrative cancer therapiesArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDue to a liberalisation reform in 2009, the availability of over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics has increased significantly in the Swedish market over the past decade. With the increasing number of generic products available on the market and the possibility of buying OTC drugs from non-pharmacy outlets, a key to safe drug use is that consumers possess the necessary knowledge to differentiate between the different brands and choose the appropriate drug for their ailments. The aim of this study was to investigate Swedish consumers' knowledge of and attitudes towards generic OTC analgesics.
methodsA sample of 209 Swedish adults (66% women; mean age 43.1 years) who bought OTC analgesics at a community pharmacy in one of the country's three largest cities responded to a structured questionnaire. The questions related to knowledge of active substances, the use and choice of OTC analgesics (generic or original brand), attitudes towards generic OTC analgesics, information received about OTC analgesics and experience with generic substitution of prescription drugs.
resultsAlmost one in five reported weekly use of OTC analgesics, and 32% assigned minimum three out of four active substances to the correct brand(s) of OTC analgesics. Among the 50 participants (24%) who assigned all four active substances correctly, it was predominantly women and participants with higher education. Four out of five participants were positive towards the cheaper brands, and 69% reportedly chose cheaper generic brands over more expensive brands. Knowledge about the active substances of different brands was associated with positive attitudes towards generic products.
conclusionSwedish pharmacy customers have to a varying extent the knowledge to differentiate between different brands of commonly used OTC analgesics in terms of active substances. There is a predominantly positive attitude towards generic OTC analgesics, although some consider generic drugs to be inferior and stay loyal to the original brands.
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Registered trials
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