Outpatients’ preference and associated factors for pharmacist counseling medium at University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital

Author: Kriza Rosette A. Cadorna, Jesca Joi A. Macalalad, Krizza Camilla M. Santos, Mac Ardy J. Gloria*

Category: Pharmacy

Abstract:

Patient medication counseling uses various communication media to optimize patientcentered pharmaceutical care. However, studies on assessing patients’ preferences for these communication media and their predictors have been limited nationally and globally. Hence, this study aimed to determine outpatients’ preference for patient counseling communication media at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH). It employed a descriptive, correlational design and purposive sampling technique among adult Filipino outpatients in UP-PGH pharmacies. A total of 159 respondents participated in the study. Majority were 41–60 years old, female, married, from urban areas, high school graduates, unemployed, and had an income below PhP 20,000 (USD 400). Results showed that they had high knowledge on patient counseling, were very satisfied with their experiences, and were willing to be counseled by a pharmacist. Overall, face-to-face was the most preferred communication medium. Among the studied variables, education (p=.035, adj R² =0.22) significantly predicted preference for text messaging. Age (p=.008, adj R²=0.038), knowledge score (p=.007, adj R²=0.075), and residence (p=.035, adj R²=0.096) predicted preference for telephone medium. Age (p=.001, adj R² =0.142), education (p<.001, adj R²=0.090), and willingness (p=.004, adj R² =0.182) predicted preference for online medium. However, these predictors only explained less than 20% of their preference for communication medium for patient medication counseling. Other variables not included in the study may significantly influence the variability of the respondents’ perception on patient medication counseling medium, like their medication usage and health status

Keywords: outpatients’ preference, patient counseling, counseling communication media, UP-PGH, Philippine General Hospital