Drug information for patients in the community

The failure of patience to follow drug regimens may be due to lack of information or the negative attitudes of patients and health care providers. We have found that most patients in rural areas did not ask for information about their treatment because they felt their health carers had little time for such matters. These problems will continue unless practitioners at all levels make better efforts to understand their patients' perceptions of illness and treatment; and especially whether compliance with drug treatment is feasible

People's perception and use of drugs in Zimbabwe : a socio-cultural research project

The objectives of the study were to gain knowledge about people's patterns of behavior in relation to drugs and modern health care facilities with particular reference to the way in which the perception and use of drugs may be influenced by the following cultural and socio-economic determinants. The quantitative data from the survey have been combined with qualitative data from the group interviews to provide a comprehensive picture of people's perceptions and behavior with regard to illness and treatment