Awareness of essential medicine institution and attitude toward essential medication free of charge among residents in Liaoyuan city

Objective To examine the awareness of essential medicine institution and the attitude toward essential medication free of charge among residents in Liaoyuan city,Jilin province and to provide references for the feasibility and implements of the policy of essential medication free of charge for elderly people at grass-roots medical institutions.Methods Totally 280 elderly residents(aged 60-80 years)and 300 middle-aged residents(30-69 years old)were selected in Liaoyuan city with stratified random sampling and surveyed with a questionnaire.Results The proportion of the people without awareness of,having heard of,knowing a little about,and knowing well about essential medicine institution were 53.9%,19.6%,21.0%,and 5.4% among the elderly and 46.7%,26.7%,19.3%,and 7.3% among the middle-aged,respectively,and there was no significant difference in the awareness of essential medicine institution between the elderly and the middle-aged residents(P>0.05).The percentage of people suffering from diseases(42.1%)in the elderly was significantly higher than that in the middle-aged(25.7%)(χ²=17.62,P=0.000).The proportion of the people doing periodic physical examination while knowing very well about health status of oneself,seeing a doctor when feeling uncomfortable,and never doing physical examination nor seeing a doctor were 30.0%,62.1%,and 1.4% among the elderly and 28.7%,54.0%,and 17.3% among the middle-aged,respectively,and there was a significant difference in the awareness of health status between the two groups(χ²=11.93,P=0.003).There were significant differences in behaviors related to the attitude toward essential medication free of charge,such as the management of remaining medicine stored at home,whether using self free allowances for essential medication to buy drugs for family members,and the management of remaining free allowances for essential medication,between the elderly and the middle-aged residents(all P<0.05),but there was no significant difference in the consideration of reducing financial burden with the utilization of essential medication free of charge(P>0.05).Conclusion Most elderly people are sufferers of diseases and more willing to seek medication;the policy of essential medication free of charge at grass-roots medical institutions is feasible,however relevant risk in the implementation of the policy should be taken into consideration.