Expectations, concerns, and needs of patients who start drugs for chronic conditions. A prospective observational study among community pharmacies in Serbia

Figures & data

Table 1. Examples of sub-categorizing patients’ answers.

Patient’s response	Sub-category
‘Is this drug harmful if I use it for a long period?’	Side effects
‘Do I have to take medicines every day?’	Regimen
‘I expect that the drug will lower my LDL and total cholesterol level.’	Condition under the control
‘How to use these inhalators properly? My doctor told me, but I'd like to hear it again.’	Drug use
‘It seems that this drug is not helping me.’	Ineffectiveness
‘Is this life-long treatment?’	Duration
‘How to keep the drug properly? I heard that I could keep it in the fridge, is it true?’	Storage

Figure 1. Number of patients’ answers concerning interests (knowledge); expectations; concerns; reasons to stop therapy.

Table 2. Statistically significant predictors of patients’ knowledge, expectations, concerns, reasons to stop therapy.

Category	Cohort	Sub-category	Predictor^a	OR	95%CI
Knowledge	All patients (n = 391)	Regimen	≥3 new drugs**	4.31	1.52–12.21
		Treatment outcome	M**	3.63	1.50–8.77
	Patients prescribed C medicines (n = 246)	Regimen	≥3 new drugs* Diuretics*	4.28 2.90	1.11–16.58 1.03–8.17
		Treatment outcome	Beta blockers* Statins*	3.35 3.75	1.22–9.16 1.06–13.33
Expectations	All patients (n = 391)	To be cured	A** M***	3.80 5.63	1.48–9.73 2.08–15.24
		Quality of life improvement	A** C*** R***	0.25 0.27 4.07	0.09–0.68 0.13–0.57 1.77–9.40
	Patients prescribed C medicines (n = 246)	Better control than previous therapy	Calcium channel blockers**	5.72	1.64–19.94
Concerns	All patients (n = 391)	Side effects	A* C** M** R**	6.38 11.18 12.86 10.43	1.29–31.62 2.06–60.71 2.22–74.53 1.87–58.28
Reasons to stop  treatment	All patients (n = 391)	Financial reasons	M** R*	5.59 3.25	1.72–18.10 1.02–10.30
	Patients prescribed C medicines (n = 246)	Achieved control	Beta blockers*	4.10	1.26–13.43

^a Statistically significant level:

* P <0.05,

** P <0.01,

*** P < 0.001.

OR: odds ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; A, C, M, R, newly prescribed drugs for alimentary tract and metabolism, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal system, respiratory system, respectively.

Table 3. Statistically significant predictors of drug-related problems patients’ reported following the initiation of therapy.

Category	Sample	Sub-category	Predictor*	OR	95%CI
Practical problems	Patients using C class medicines (n = 246)	Poor control	≥3 new drugs*	6.77	1.19–38.56
	Patients using R class medicines (n = 60)	Administration	Inhaled corticosteroids*	5.00	1.46–17.10
Adverse drug reactions	All patients (n = 391)	GIT side effects	R**	0.045	0.006–0.345

^a Statistically significant level:

* P <0.05,

** P <0.01,

*** P <0.001.

OR: Odds ratio; 95%CI: 95% confidence interval; A, C, M, R, newly prescribed drugs for alimentary tract and metabolism, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal system, respiratory system, respectively.