Older adults' perceptions of OTC drug labels: print size, white space and design type

摘要

he present research examines older adults' perceptions of the readability of OTC medication labels. Twelve labels depicting an OTC medication with a fictious name were constructed and attached to bottles. The labels varied in (a) print size (4 point, 7 point, 10 point), (b) amount of white space between lines/sections of text (no line spaces; line spaces between main sections; line spaces between separate statements), and (c) label design (standard vs. extended/pull-out). Fifty-three older adults rank-ordered the labels according to overall ease of reading. In general, participants preferred the labels printed with larger type and white space. However, white space appears to be less improtant than print size in readability perceptions. Readability perceptions were also higher with the alternative extended label designs (pull-out). Implications for labeling on containers with small surface areas is discussed.