Abstract
BACKGROUND: Irrational medication use is likely to result in therapeutic failure and disease progression. One way to increase public awareness about appropriate medication use is to design and deliver a public health medicine awareness campaign. This study aims to assess the public's attitudes and experiences related to medication use and health awareness campaigns in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional survey study. Participants were aged 18 or over and able to speak Arabic or English. An online survey was distributed to a convenient sample of 451 participants by email and social media via an internet link, leading to a web-based survey platform in QuestionPro. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the associations. RESULTS: Three hundred and forty-seven participants (76% female, aged 18-85 years) were on a mean (SD) of two (1.86) prescription-only-medicines (POMs), and 225 were on non-prescription medicines. Seventy-one and 63 % of those surveyed consulted a doctor or a pharmacist, respectively, for advice about their medications. The participants were curious mainly about the side effects of treatment (79%), followed by drug interactions and contraindications (55%). Most participants agreed or strongly agreed that their medications were necessary to improve their condition (82%), prevent the progress of their condition (85%), and reduce the risk of complications (90%). Seventy-seven percent of participants reported seeing a public health campaign previously. TV (58%) and Twitter (55%) were reported as the most appropriate tools to help deliver a good public health campaign. Ninety-one percent believed that a public health campaign can increase people's awareness about their lifestyle, and 73% declared that medication should be part of it. CONCLUSION: The findings can be a foundation for developing and implementing medicines and health awareness campaigns to enhance public understanding of health and medication use.