Perceptions About Medication Taking: Second-Order Constructs
| Second-Order Construct | Explanatory Notes | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| Promote persistence | ||
| Unconditional acceptance of treatment | A high regard for clinician advice making prescriptions nonnegotiable | 2, 6, 10, 13, 15 |
| Perceived security from medication taking | Taking medications gives a sense of control and is likely to reduce risk of death and recurrent events | 4, 8, 9, 14, 15 |
| Symptomatic improvements in physical health promote persistence | Positive reinforcements about benefits of medications from noticeable improvements in symptoms | 4, 9, 12, 14 |
| Routines and physical aids | Incorporating medication taking into daily routine and using blister packs facilitates persistence | 9, 12, 13, 15 |
| Motivation for persistence driven by belief that medication will prevent further cardiac events | Belief that medication taking will reduce the risk of death and cardiac events | 7, 8, 15 |
| Family members as supporters | Providing help to sort medications and acting as reminders | 5, 9, 12 |
| Medications more powerful than lifestyle | Belief that medications are more powerful in their action than life-style changes | 14 |
| Perceived physical dependence on medications | Belief that their body is physically dependent on medications because they have been used for so long | 9 |
| Ambivalence toward persistence | ||
| Influenced by experiences of friends and family | Using the experiences of others to shape their own decisions about medication taking | 2, 6, 9 |
| Health literacy | Medication information may or may not be relevant to individual health literacy | 9, 15 |
| Deter persistence | ||
| Confusion about specific medication indications | Confusion about medications leading to misunderstandings about their relative importance | 10, 11a, 11b, 11c, 12, 15 |
| Concerns about medications effects on bodies | Concerns about ability to function while taking the medications, including ability to work | 1, 8, 10, 11a, 11b, 12, 15 |
| Negative information in patient literature causing concern | Knowledge of potential adverse effects (eg, from medication inserts, leaflets) leading to expectations that they would occur | 6, 8, 15 |
| Fear of long-term damage from medication taking | Fear of damage to organs other than the heart, including cancer | 7, 9, 10 |
| Cost as a barrier | Inability to afford medication or access clinic | 11a, 11b, 11c |
| Dislike taking tablets | Dislike for tablet taking in itself, particularly long term | 8, 10 |