Perceptions of Bruneian Clients about Online Medicine Information

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the perceptions of clients in Brunei Darussalam about online medicine information and to investigate determinants for the use of preferred medicine-related websites. Methods: Bruneian clients who met the eligibility criteria were purposively sampled and asked to fill out a structured questionnaire. An in-depth interview was also conducted to triangulate the survey data. Results: A total of 189 respondents completed the survey with the response rate of 75.6%. Half of the medicine information seekers (55.6%) were women and mostly between the age of 18 and 49 years. The majority of the respondents (90.5%) accessed the Internet from home, and 49.2% spent approximately 1 to 2 hours searching for the required medicine information. They mostly perceived searching online medicine information was speedy and convenient (84.7%). Information on side effects and indications of drugs (87.3% and 79.4%) was largely sought on the Internet. Most respondents (79.4%) were satisfied with the retrieved medicine information. Determinants for the use of medicinerelated websites were not detected. Conclusions: Clients conveniently obtained medicine information from the Internet aside from seeking advice from physicians and pharmacists. Their online medicine information needs and information reliability merit further studies.