More than half of Poles bought medical products in 2009

2010-02-03

The percentage of Poles who purchased medicinal, personal care products or medical devices amounted to 52% in 2009, unchanged from 2008 but down from 67% in 2006 and 62% in 2007, according to an annual survey by Pentor. The figure was higher-than-average among the following categories: women, better-educated persons, higher social classes, managers and white-collar workers.
The vast majority of medical products' purchases (96%) took place at pharmacies, same as in 2008. At the same time, online pharmacies were mentioned by 3% and internet stores (separately) also by 3%, up from 1% for the generic category “internet” in 2008. Community stores came second with 15% and super- and hypermarkets and discount stores ranked third with 13%. The categories of respondents who purchase medicines at retail outlets other than pharmacies with above-average frequency include: women, people aged below 40, those with secondary or higher education, inhabitants of larger cities, managers and white-collar workers.
At the same time, the survey showed a reversal of a positive trend in self-declared health, with the average self-rating at 3.6, down from 3.7 (on a scale of 1 to 5). More than one in two Poles (55%) considered their health to be “good” or “very good”, against 12% who described it as “bad” or “very bad” Predictably, self-declared health is negatively correlated with age and positively with level of education and income.
Seventy percent of the respondents said their health did not change since 2008 whereas about one in five admitted it had deteriorated. The most frequent complaints reported by respondents were spinal pain, hypertension, muscle, bone and joint pain, nervousness, hyperactivity, anger, an cough, cold, hay fever.
A clear plurality of respondents (43%) said they consulted a doctor in case of pain, while 18% turned to OTC medicines.
The survey was carried out in December 2009 on a sample of 1,002 Poles aged 15 and above.