Enhancing Information Acquisition for Over-the-Counter Medications by Making Better Use of Container Surface Space

Abstract

Mostover - the - counter ( O TC ) pharmaceuticalcontainer labels are printed in very small type . Consequently , people with visual impairments ( e . g ., presbyopia in older adults ) have difficulty reading the material . Some O TC drugs are packaged in containers with easy - open caps . This design increases the surface area that could be used to enhance the labeling . In Experiment 1 , older adults (M = 75 . 1 years , SD = 8 . 1 ) evaluated six container label variants for an actual O TC product . Besides having a multipanel main label , four containers had labels attached to the cap that displayed the most important information in large print but differed in color . Two control containers lacked a cap label ; one had only a four - panel main label , and the other had only the front label . Partici pants ranked the containers on six dimensions ( e . g ., label noticeability , willingness to read ). Results showed greater preference for containers with the cap labels . Experiment 2 again examined preferences but also measured information - acquisition performance after participants (M = 79 years , SD = 5 . 8 ) were briefly exposed to a realistic - appearing , but fictitious , O TC medication . Results showed greater knowledge and preference for containers with the cap labels . Experiment 2 showed that one of the cap colors ( yellow ) that was different from the main label was preferred over the white and orange ( the same colors as on the main label ), but color distinctiveness as an explanation was not fully sup ported because the green cap was not significantly different from the other cap labels . Implications for communicating information about O TC drugs using expanded labels are discussed .