Electronic package leaflets (ePLs) are a key channel for communicating medicine information, yet limited health literacy often constrains their effectiveness, resulting in difficulties retrieving, comprehending, and applying content. Such barriers increase confusion among users and reliance on non-validated sources, undermining safe medicine use and reducing treatment adherence. Despite this, few digital solutions have been empirically tested to overcome latter barriers. Gravitate Health (GH), a European health application, addresses this gap through the G-Lens, a digital interface that highlights ePLs based on users' medical information, to support personalized choices, sustained adherence, and patient engagement.


Purpose This study investigated (1) how Italian patients with chronic conditions and over the counter (OTC) medicine consumers engage with ePLs, and (2) how they evaluate and accept the G-Lens concept.


Method A quantitative survey (206 patients, 305 OTC consumers) explored sociodemographic, some dimensions of health literacy: HLQ (Osborne et al., 2013), eHLQ (Kayser et al., 2018), and patterns of ePL use. Within the survey, a narrative-based video demonstrator introduced two personas navigating the G-Lens, enabling participants to appraise the tool in realistic scenarios.


Results Most respondents reported consulting ePLs (Patients 85.4%, OTC 90.5%), yet substantial proportions experienced difficulties in retrieving (Patients 42%, OTC 49.6%) and comprehending (Patients 39.8%, OTC 42%) information. These findings reveal literacy-sensitive barriers to effective engagement. By contrast, the G-Lens concept was positively received: over half intended to use it when starting new medication (Patients 54.4%, OTC 45.6%), and more than 65% (Patients 65.5%, OTC 65.9%) would recommend it to others, reflecting perceived value and trust.


Conclusions While ePLs remain essential, they are insufficient to meet psychological and practical user needs. Human-centered, literacy-aware solutions such as the G-Lens hold promise for academia, clinical practice, and society by reframing medicine information as an empowering resource that strengthens comprehension, autonomy, and quality of life.