ArticleJournal of pharmaceutical policy and practice2016
Prescription medicine sharing: exploring patients' beliefs and experiences.
Article in Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medication Sharing Among Older Adults in South Korea: A Qualitative Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Views, Barriers and Facilitators of Policymakers, Pharmacists and Community Health Representative in Managing Unused Medicine in a Socioeconomically Diverse District in Indonesia.F1000Research · 2026Article
- Facilitators and Barriers to Prescription Medication Sharing: A Qualitative Study from the Public's Perspective in Saudi Arabia.Drug, healthcare and patient safety · 2025Article
- The magnitude and associated factors of unused medications storage practice among households in Jimma city, southwest of Ethiopia: Community-based cross-sectional study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2024Article
- Antibiotics in the Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study to Understand Users' Perspectives of Antibiotic Seeking and Consumption Behaviors in Bangladesh.Patient preference and adherence · 2022Article
- Differences in the Pattern of Non-Recreational Sharing of Prescription Analgesics among Patients in Rural and Urban Areas.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- The Underground Exchange of Diabetes Medications and Supplies: Donating, Trading, and Borrowing, Oh My!Journal of diabetes science and technology · 2020Article
- Improper disposal practice of unused and expired pharmaceutical products in Indonesian households.Heliyon · 2020Article
- Medication Risk Management.Innovations in pharmacy · 2019Article
- 'You don't throw these things out:' an exploration of medicines retention and disposal practices in Australian homes.BMC public health · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrescription medicine sharing has been defined as the lending of medicines (giving prescription medicines to someone else) or borrowing of medicines (being given and using a medicine prescribed for another person). This qualitative study explored the views of patients, to elicit information regarding factors influencing medicine sharing behaviours, their experiences of the consequences of prescription medicine sharing, and their risk assessment strategies when deciding to share.
methodsOne-on-one, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were carried out in Auckland, New Zealand between September 2013 and August 2014 with 17 patients, purposively sampled to provide information from different socio-demographic backgrounds. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a general inductive approach. The study received ethical approval, and all interviewees provided written informed consent.
resultsFindings were captured within five overarching themes: types of shared medicines; perceived benefits of sharing medicines; negative experiences of sharing; factors influencing sharing behaviours; and risk assessment strategies. Participants reported that sharing helped them to avoid treatment costs and the inconvenience associated with medical visits such as booking appointments. Conversely, unanticipated side effects, allergies, and taking inappropriate medicines were the main adverse consequences of sharing. Altruism, limited access to medicines/health services, sociocultural factors, and having unused prescription medicines were factors influencing sharing behaviours. Participants reported assessing the safety of sharing a medicine primarily based on symptom matching, past illness experiences, and knowledge about the medicines.
conclusionsThis study enriches previous survey findings, by providing insight into patients' reasons for medicines sharing. Healthcare providers should consider asking their patients about any medicines they have shared and their future sharing intentions, in order to use the opportunity for discussing safer sharing practices, without promoting the behaviour. The findings are helpful for informing the development of potential interventions and targeted educational messages about safe medicine use for patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.