ArticleBMC health services research2017
"It's so hard taking pills when you don't know what they're for": a qualitative study of patients' medicine taking behaviours and conceptualisation of medicines in the context of rheumatoid arthritis.
Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Candidacy 2.0 (CC) - an enhanced theory of access to healthcare for chronic conditions: lessons from a critical interpretive synthesis on access to rheumatoid arthritis care.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Expert recommendations on the psychological needs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Rheumatology international · 2018Pooled it
- Prednisone prescribing for rheumatoid arthritis management in primary care: Mixed-methods study of trends and patient perspectives.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026Article
- Article
- Outcomes of Community Pharmacy Interventions on Patients with Medicines Under Additional Monitoring.Integrated pharmacy research & practice · 2024Article
- Factors Contributing to Medication Adherence in Patients with a Chronic Condition: A Scoping Review of Qualitative Research.Pharmaceutics · 2021Article
- Communicative and Discursive Perspectives on the Medication Experience.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- How do I keep myself safe? Patient perspectives on including reason for use information on prescriptions and medication labels: a qualitative thematic analysis.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2020Article
- Disease and management beliefs of elderly patients with rheumatoid arthritis and comorbidity: a qualitative study.Clinical rheumatology · 2018Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients with chronic illnesses are often required to take lifelong medication to alleviate symptoms and prevent disease progression. Many patients find it difficult to adhere to prescribed medication for various reasons, some of which may link to the way they conceptualise medicines and understand their illness and treatment. This study explores the medicine taking behaviours of patients presenting with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. We focused particularly on patients' conceptualisation and understanding of medicines within this disease context, against a backdrop of scarce healthcare resources.
methodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 female patients at a rheumatology clinic in South Africa, as well as a review of participants' medical records. We conducted a secondary analysis of the data using thematic analysis and framework analysis principles.
resultsParticipants reported a range of medicine taking behaviours including self-medicating, adding complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) or traditional remedies, and sometimes acquiring prescribed medicines illegally. Participants provided insights into their understanding of what constitutes a medicine and what substances can be added to a prescribed regimen, which impacted on adherence. Importantly, the majority of participants demonstrated poor understanding of their illness, medications, regimens and dosage instructions.
conclusionsMedicine taking in the context of RA, within the studied demographic, is complex and appears strongly mediated by individual and contextual factors. Poor patient understanding, individual conceptualisation of medicines and medicine taking, and the availability of a range of additional medicines and remedies impact on adherence. Based on these findings, we make some suggestions for how healthcare providers can play a greater role in educating patients living with RA about medicines, CAM and traditional remedies, as well as medicine taking behaviours.
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