Factors associated with the understanding of medical prescriptions in the Unified Health System in a city in southern Brazil

A cross-sectional study via interviews was conducted in the city of Tubarao in the state of Santa Catarina in order to identify the association between prescription indicators and the profile of the healthcare users and their understanding of medical prescriptions among patients attended by the Unified Health System. Information was collected on the profile of the healthcare users, the prescription indicators recommended by the World Health Organization and the understanding of drug prescriptions. Three hundred subjects were interviewed and the associated factors were identified using the Chi-square test. Of the respondents, 59.3% were able to read the prescription or knew the drug names, 80.7% knew the drug indication, 73.7% knew the dosage, 72.3% knew the dosage intervals and 72.7% knew the duration of treatment. However, only 46.3% of the respondents fully understood the prescription. Between the prescriptions indicators only the number of drugs in prescriptions was significantly associated with understanding. On the other hand, having up to eight years of schooling, belonging to socioeconomic class C1, being under 49 years of age and being female were significantly associated with the understanding of the drug prescription.