Factors associated with the need for information about medicines among pregnant women - a multinational internet-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Women frequently experience health problems and use medicines during pregnancy, and thus need information about their medicines. Knowledge about factors associated with medicine information needs is important for pharmacists when tailoring medication counseling for these pregnant women. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate how socioeconomic factors, health literacy, health status, and use of medicines are associated with the need for drug information among pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional internet-based survey was posted using the Questback program (www.questback.com) on 1-4 websites commonly used by pregnant women in the participating countries within the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used. Logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis when measuring the association of maternal socio-demographics and health-related characteristics with the need for medicines information. RESULTS: A higher need for medicines information was associated with primiparity (OR 1.56, CI 1.40-1.75), age of 35+ years (OR 1.26, CI 1.03-1.54), university education (OR 1.33, CI 1.17-1.51), low health literacy (OR 1.96, CI 1.50-2.55), use of medication for chronic diseases (OR 2.67, CI 2.28-3.13), use of medication for acute illnesses (OR 1.88, CI 1.64-2.15), use of OTCs (2+ OTC medicines, OR 1.87, CI 1.60-2.20), use of herbal preparations (OR 1.57, CI 1.37-1.80), and region of residence in Eastern Europe (OR 2.36, CI 2.00-2.79) and Northern Europe (OR 1.26, CI 1.10-1.44). CONCLUSIONS: The need for medicines information among pregnant women increases with the number of health problems and use of both prescription and OTC medicines as well as herbal preparations. Women with lower health literacy express a higher need for medicines information. These groups are primary targets for intensified counseling.