The drug utilization patterns of Hong Kong Chinese adults

This paper reports the findings of a pilot study on the drug utilization patterns, including both Western and Chinese medications, of Hong Kong Chinese adults with an aim to plan quality community-based safe medication practice education. A tool for collecting the drug utilization patterns was developed for the purpose of the study. One hundred Chinese adults were invited to participate in this pilot study. Structured interviews were used in the study. Drug utilization patterns of the subjects in the preceding 2 weeks were investigated. It was found that 44 adults took Western medications such as cough and cold remedies or analgesics. Nineteen adults took Chinese medications such as tonics or prescriptions for relieving exterior syndrome. Adults who took Western medications understood the effects and side effects of the drugs better than those who took the Chinese medications although their knowledge was not sufficient to allow them to perform safe medication practice. It was concluded that the tool is useful in the future, in large-scale research studies to promote safe medication practice.