Management for improving patients’ knowledge and understanding about drug allergy

Q: What problem does the study address regarding drug allergy?

Inadequate documentation and communication among health providers, together with limited patient health literacy and knowledge, can lead to recurrent drug allergy reactions.

Q: How did the study design interventions to improve outcomes?

A before-and-after study compared a brochure-only approach (Group 1) with brochure plus pharmacist counseling (Group 2), and assessed knowledge, understanding, and related behaviors using questionnaires at baseline and one month after information.

Q: What were the key findings about pharmacist counseling?

Group 2 showed significantly greater increases in overall knowledge scores and in the proportion of patients self-reporting that they carried and presented drug allergy cards compared with Group 1.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Evangeline

Drug allergy is a serious adverse drug reaction shaped by immunologic mechanisms and commonly undermined by inadequate documentation and weak patient health literacy. Limited communication among health providers and difficulty understanding English medication information can contribute to recurrent allergic reactions. This study assessed whether initiatives improve patients’ knowledge, understanding, and preventive behavior regarding recurrent drug allergy using questionnaire-based evaluation before and one month after interventions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time3 min

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ABSTRACT

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

INTRODUCTION

Jarernsiripornkul N, Chaipichit N, Chumworathayi P, Krska J. Management for improving patients’ knowledge and understanding about drug allergy. Pharmacy Practice 2015 Jan-Mar;13(1):513 . Original Research Management for improving patients’ knowledge and understanding about drug allergy Narumol JARERNSIRIPORNKUL, Nataporn CHAIPICHIT, Pansu CHUMWORATHAYI, Janet KRSKA. Received (first version): 15-Sep-2014 Accepted: 29-Jan-2015 * ABSTRACT Background: Drug allergy a serious adverse drug reaction commonly concerned in healthcare practice. Inadequate documentation and communication between health providers, and limited health literacy and knowledge in patients could contribute to the re-occurrence of allergic reactions. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives aiming to improve patients’ knowledge, understanding and behavior in preventing recurrent drug allergy. Methods: A before-and-after study was conducted at an 800-bed university teaching hospital, involving patients with a history of drug allergy. Questionnaires, completed at baseline and one month after receiving information were used to compare knowledge and understanding of drug allergy and behaviors in relation to drug allergy cards. Patients in Group 1 received a brochure only, but patients in Group 2 also received a pharmacist counseling intervention in addition to the brochure. Outcomes were evaluated within intervention group and between intervention groups. Results: The study included 299 (30 .4%) and 100 patients (100 .0%) in Groups 1 and 2 respectively who completed the baseline questionnaire, of whom 179 (59 .8%) and 96 (96 .0%) completed the follow-up questionnaire. At baseline, higher educational levels and possession of a drug allergy card were significantly associated with better knowledge about drug allergy. After intervention, Group 2 had significantly greater increases in mean overall knowledge scores than Group 1 (p<0 .01) and also greater increases in the proportions self-reporting carrying and presenting drug allergy cards (p<0 .05 and p<0 .01) . Conclusions: Pharmacist counseling plus brochure maybe more effective than brochure alone in promoting patients’ knowledge of drug allergy and drug allergy card importance. Keywords: Drug Hypersensitivity; Patient Medication Knowledge; Patient Education as Topic; Pharmaceutical Services; Thailand * Narumol JARERNSIRIPORNKUL. PhD. Division of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University. Khon Kaen (Thailand) . [narumol@kku.ac.th](narumol@kku.ac.th) Nataporn CHAIPICHIT. MSc. Division of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University. Khon Kaen (Thailand) . [nata_wow@hotmail.com](nata_wow@hotmail.com) Pansu CHUMWORATHAYI. MSc. Department of Pharmacy Service, Srinagarind Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. Khon Kaen (Thailand) . [aguard.apo@hotmail.com](aguard.apo@hotmail.com) Janet KRSKA. PhD. Medway School of Pharmacy, The Universities of Greenwich and Kent at Medway. Chatham (United Kingdom) . [j.krska@kent.ac.uk](j.krska@kent.ac.uk) INTRODUCTION Drug allergy is an immunologically mediated response to specific agent in a sensitized person.1 The clinical manifestations of drug allergy are restricted to certain syndromes that are specifically accepted as allergic in nature, which may present as mild to life-threatening reactions.2 The estimated incidence of drug allergy was 0.018-4.2 per 1000 hospitalizations3,4 , and the estimated mortality related to drug allergy was 0.09 per 1000 hospitalizations (95%CI 0.06, 0. 12) .4 In Thailand, the occurrence of anaphylaxis in a university hospital increased from 9.16 per 100,000 admitted persons in 1999 to 55.45 per 100,000 admitted persons in 2004, in which 50.0% of identifiable causes were drugs.5 Practices in the Thai healthcare system could potentially contribute to recurrent drug allergy because patients can obtain medications from pharmacies

FAQs

What problem does the study address regarding drug allergy?

Inadequate documentation and communication among health providers, together with limited patient health literacy and knowledge, can lead to recurrent drug allergy reactions.

How did the study design interventions to improve outcomes?

A before-and-after study compared a brochure-only approach (Group 1) with brochure plus pharmacist counseling (Group 2), and assessed knowledge, understanding, and related behaviors using questionnaires at baseline and one month after information.

What were the key findings about pharmacist counseling?

Group 2 showed significantly greater increases in overall knowledge scores and in the proportion of patients self-reporting that they carried and presented drug allergy cards compared with Group 1.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Evangeline