Ascertaining consumer perspectives of medication information sources using a modified repertory grid technique

Objective To establish the range of medicine information sources used by consumers and their perception of the reliability of these, using the repertory grid technique. Method Consumers visiting three community pharmacies in Brisbane, Australia, were interviewed using the repertory grid technique. During the interview, consumers were asked to name up to three medicine information sources that they used for a supermarket medicine, an over-the-counter medicine and a prescription medicine. They were then presented with their named information sources in groups of three and asked to discriminate between these in terms of their perceived reliability of the information source. The descriptors used by the consumer to discriminate between the information sources are known as constructs and these were recorded. The consumer was then asked to rate each of their information sources against each generated construct. Main outcome measure The range of information sources generated was determined along with the perceived reliability of these from the calculated median score of each information source when rated on each generated construct. Results A total of 110 consumers were interviewed and identified 648 information sources that they would use. The most frequent information sources cited by the 110 consumers were their doctor (83%), written information (90%) and the pharmacist (78%). There were a total of 299 constructs generated by 88 of the consumers and these were themed into 16 discrete categories. The most common generated constructs themes were “good knowledge” (15%), “training” (14%) and “trustworthiness” (13%). The consumer perception of their information sources were that the doctor and pharmacist have good knowledge (median score 1) and are trained (median score 1) and were perceived to be trustworthy (median score 3 and 2, respectively). Conclusion The repertory grid technique was successful in identifying the information sources consumers accessed to find out about their medicines and in identifying the perception of these sources in terms of their reliability. The repertory grid technique offers a novel method for future research into consumer preferences for different treatment options

Pregnancy and Parenting Among Runaway and Homeless Young Women

Homeless youth face numerous challenging life circumstances, both prior to leaving home and while homeless. Examples of such difficult experiences include exceptionally high rates of pregnancy and early parenthood, particularly in comparison to their housed peers. This chapter reviews the complexity of causes, risk factors, and adverse outcomes associated with homeless youth pregnancy and early parenthood. Homeless youth pregnancy and early parenthood are notably under-researched topics, and as homeless youth have unique and complex life experiences, this chapter also highlights opportunities for further advancing culturally responsive prevention and intervention services in efforts to more effectively decrease pregnancies and improve sexual, reproductive, maternal-child health, and parenting outcomes among this highly vulnerable population