Sumithra Devi Suppiah

• Master of Pharmacy
• Senior Research Associate at Duke-NUS Medical School

Background: Patient preferences for the content and format of prescription medication labels (PMLs, i.e., sticker labels placed on medication bottles/packets at dispensing) have been extensively studied. However, accommodating all preferences on PMLs is impractical due to space limitations. Understanding how patients prioritise the content and for...

Background: Prescription medication labels (PMLs) predominantly dispensed in English, are an important adjunct to medication counselling. PMLs are routinely used by pharmacy staff to counsel older adults about their medications. This study sought to identify challenges that pharmacy staff observe older adults face in using their PMLs, and to ident...

Background: Health literacy (HL) is an important determinant of health. Sub-optimal HL can have profound consequences for individuals and health systems. However, little is known about the HL of older Singaporeans. Objective: This study determined the prevalence, socio-demographic and health-related correlates of limited and marginal HL among ol...

The risk of misinterpreting prescription medicine labels (PMLs) is higher among older adults. Given the limited space on PMLs, their format and content should cater to older adults’ medication information and legibility needs. We established the ranking of seven medication-related content variables (indication, precautions, interaction or paired me...

Objective In an earlier study, several tested International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) pictograms did not achieve validity among older adults in Singapore. In this study, for 27 unvalidated FIP pictograms, we (1) developed variants of each pictogram, (2) elicited the most-preferred variant, and (3) assessed the validity of the most-preferred v...

Background Prescription medication labels (PMLs) are central in guiding patients to use their medications appropriately. For PMLs to achieve this purpose, their content must enable medication use as desired and be presented in a clear and legible manner. Aim This study assesses the extent to which the format and content of PMLs used in Singapore m...

Background Medication adherence is relatively poor among older adults. Although there exist medication reminder apps, data on the prevalence and correlates of their ‘use and use intention’ by older adults are limited. Objective To examine the prevalence, and socio-demographic and health correlates of medication reminder app use and use intention a...

Background Prescription medication labels (PMLs) are an important source of written medication information for patients. However, real-world PMLs do not entirely conform with available labelling best practices and guidelines. Given this disconnect, older adults remain particularly at risk of misinterpreting their PMLs. Past studies have commonly as...

Objective Pictograms on prescription medication labels enhance medication literacy and medication adherence. However, pictograms need to be contextually validated. We assessed the validity of 52 International Pharmaceutical Federation pictograms among 250 older Singaporeans with limited English proficiency (LEP). Methods Participants were randomly...

Background: In Singapore, English is predominantly used on prescription medication labels (PMLs). However, many older Singaporeans cannot read English, and among those who read English, their English health literacy (EHL) proficiency varies. It is thus pertinent to examine the link between EHL and medication use outcomes in this population. The pre...

In Singapore, while many older people cannot read English, prescription medication labels (PMLs) are predominantly dispensed in English. This qualitative study documented the challenges faced and solutions employed by users (i.e. older Singaporeans) and dispensers (i.e. pharmacy staff) of PMLs. In total, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted; 20 we...

Background Polypharmacy, given its link with drug interactions, potentially inappropriate medications and medication non-adherence, may pose a significant health risk, especially among the elderly. A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of polypharmacy is essential for countries facing population ageing and growing chronic disease burden...