Lay views about medicines: the influence of the illness label for the use of generic versus brand.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate how different types of prescriptions using different illness labels may influence lay views about the use of generic or brand medicines. The participants were 882 Portuguese (both sexes) recruited from the general population, who completed a self-administered questionnaire. A vignette methodology was used in which different prescriptions (generic versus brand) were given for the same label (flu, hypertension, asthma and angina pectoris). The dependent variables were for each illness label: (a) the level of agreement with the prescription, (b) beliefs about the efficacy of a medicine and (c) beliefs about the relief of symptoms. There were main effects of the label and the type of prescription upon beliefs about the use of medicines. There were interactions between illness label and type of medicines. Labels which were perceived as more serious were associated with a lower belief in generic medicines. These results raise important questions concerning the need to consider illness perceptions of lay people (including perceived severity) and its relationship with perceptions of treatment for different conditions. Furthermore, these results may have implications for health-related behaviour in general, and in particular for communication between lay people and health professionals, prescribing behaviour, health costs and adherence to treatment.

Patients' illness schemata of hypertension: the role of beliefs for the choice of treatment.

The aims of this study were (1) to investigate what are the illness perceptions of hypertensive patients and their relationship with beliefs about specific medicines, and (2) to identify different illness schemata and how they relate to the choice of medication. This was a cross-sectional study in which 191 Portuguese patients (59% females), with a hypertension diagnosis, aged over 18 years old, were recruited from a hospital clinic in the Lisbon Metropolitan area. The questionnaire included measures of choice of medication, beliefs about specific medicines (BMQ-Specific), illness perception (Brief-IPQ), and socio-demographic information. The results indicated that the components of the illness perceptions were associated with patients' beliefs about necessity and concerns about medication. Patients seem to differ in their choice of medication (generic or brand names) according to the three illness schemata identified. Patients with more negative illness schemata were more likely to choose a brand medicine, whereas patients with a more positive perception of hypertension were more likely to choose a generic medicine. Our findings support the argument that illness perceptions and beliefs about medicines play a role in influencing patients' preferences of medicines for the treatment of hypertension.

People's views on the level of agreement of generic medicines for different illnesses.

OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to investigate (1) what is the influence of illness labels (flu, asthma and angina pectoris) upon the level of agreement with the prescription of generic medicines, and (2) the influence of socio-demographic factors on lay beliefs about generic medicines, in general, and for different illness labels. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional design in which the participants were Portuguese, men and women, aged over 18 years old, and recruited from the general population (non-patients). The participants completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire which included measures of lay beliefs about generic medicines in general (GMS), level of agreement with the prescription of a generic medicines for different illnesses, and socio-demographic factors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Level of agreement with the use of generic medicines for flu, asthma and angina pectoris. Results Participants seemed to have well-defined beliefs about generics concerning their efficacy and similarity with brand medicines. Beliefs about the efficacy of generic medicines were significantly different according to the three age groups (18-25 years, mean = 3.84 (0.56); 26-37 years, mean = 3.80 (0.61); >38 years, mean = 3.72 (0.66); F = 4.4; P = 0.01), and level of education attained (9 years, mean = 3.60 (0.69); 12 years, mean = 3.78 (0.57); graduate, mean = 3.93 (0.54); F = 32.2; P = 0.000). Although participants have a moderate level of agreement with the prescription of generic medicines for the three different illnesses, their agreement significantly decreased when the illness was perceived as more serious. The lay beliefs about generics seemed to moderate the level of agreement with the prescription of a generic medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Lay beliefs about generic medicines may influence the level of agreement with the prescription of a generic medicine in a general population sample. These results raise important questions concerning the need to consider illness perceptions of lay people and their relationship with perceptions of treatment for different conditions.