A Qualitative Study on Medication Taking Behaviour Among People With Diabetes in Australia

Akram Ahmad*, Muhammad Umair Khan, Parisa Aslani

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Australia has a high proportion of migrants with an increasing migration rate from India. Type II diabetes is a long-term condition common amongst the Indian population. Aims: To investigate patients’ medication-taking behaviour and factors that influence adherence at the three phases of adherence. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 23 Indian migrants living in Sydney. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results: 1) Initiation: The majority of participants were initially prescribed oral antidiabetic medicine and only two were started on insulin. Most started taking their medicine immediately while some delayed initiating therapy due to fear of side-effects. 2) Implementation: Most participants reported taking their medicine as prescribed. However, some reported forgetting their medicine especially when they were in a hurry for work or were out for social events. 3) Discontinuation: A few participants discontinued taking their medicine. Those who discontinued did so to try Ayurvedic medicine. Their trial continued for a few weeks to a few years. Those who did not receive expected results from the Ayurvedic medicine restarted their prescribed conventional medicine. Conclusion: A range of medication-taking behaviours were observed, ranging from delays in initiation to long-term discontinuation, and swapping of prescribed medicine with Ayurvedic medicine. This study highlights the need for tailored interventions, including education, that focus on factors that impact medication adherence from initiation to discontinuation of therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number693748
Number of pages10
JournalFrontiers in Pharmacology
Volume12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2021 Ahmad, Khan and Aslani. This is an open-access article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

Keywords

  • factors
  • indian migrants
  • medication adherence
  • medication taking behaviour
  • three phases of adherence
  • type 2 diabetes

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