Themes and subthemes emerging from the studies
| Theme/subtheme | Countries, studies |
|---|---|
| Patient-related factors (socioeconomic) | |
| Belief | UK (Brown et al,32 Grace et al,34 Lawton et al36) |
| Family history of condition | UK (Grace et al,34 Lawton et al36), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Feeling victimised | South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25), Ireland (Smith et al26) |
| Lack of finance | Ireland (Smith et al26), South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25), USA (Hu et al39) |
| Lack of knowledge | Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25) |
| Lack of motivation | Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25) |
| Lack of information/understanding from doctors | UK (Brown et al,32 Choudhury et al33) |
| Low self-esteem | Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25), USA (Rustveld et al40) |
| Patient-related factors (life-style) | |
| Decrease alcohol intake | Canada (Jolles et al24), |
| Decrease caffeine intake | Canada (Jolles et al24), South Africa (Mshunqane et al29) |
| Diet | Australia (Cotrell et al21), Brazil (Peres et al22), Canada (Jolles et al24), Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25), Ireland (Smith et al26), UK (Brown et al,32 Choudhury et al,33 Grace et al,34 Heymann et al,35 Lawton et al36), USA (Coronado et al,38 Hu et al,39 Rustveld et al40), South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), Taiwan (Lai et al31) |
| Lack of exercise | Brazil (Peres et al22), Canada (Jolles et al24), UK (Brown et al,32 Choudhury et al,33 Grace et al,34 Heymann et al,35 Lawton et al36), South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), USA (Coronado et al,38 Hu et al,39 Rustveld et al40) |
| Lack of time to see doctor | Malaysia (Al-Qazaz et al27) |
| Obesity | Brazil (Peres et al22), South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), UK (Brown et al32), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Smoking | Canada (Jolles et al24), UK (Heymann et al35) |
| Stress | Ireland (Smith et al26), UK (Brown et al,32 Grace et al,34 Heymann et al35), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Medicine-related factors | |
| Belief in natural remedies as alternative to medicines | Spain (Gascon et al30), UK (Brown et al32), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Difficulty/refusal to take medicine | Brazil (Peres et al22), Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25) |
| Fear of being stuck with medicines throughout life | Spain (Gascon et al30), UK (Gordon et al7) |
| Fear of side effects | Ireland (Smith et al26), Malaysia (Al-Qazaz et al27), UK (Heymann et al35), Spain (Gascon et al30), Taiwan (Lai et al31) |
| Fear of the chemical nature of medicines | Taiwan (Lai et al31), UK (Brown et al32) |
| Forgetfullness | Brazil (Peres et al22), Malaysia (Al-Qazaz et al,27 Mohd Ali and Jusoff 200928), Spain (Gascon et al30) |
| Lack of belief in medicines | Australia (Cotrell et al21) |
| Lack of knowledge about medicines’ mechanism of actions | Canada (Jolles et al24), Spain (Gascon et al30), UK (Gordon et al7) |
| Non-adherence | Canada (Jolles et al24), Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25), Taiwan (Lai et al31), UK (Gordon et al7), USA (Hu et al,39 Rustveld et al40) |
| Polypharmacy | Brazil (Peres et al22) |
| Condition related factors | |
| Lack of control over condition | Brazil (Peres et al22), Ireland (Smith et al26) |
| Lack of knowledge/understanding of condition | Australia (Cotrell et al21), Cameroon (Kiawi et al23), Canada (Jolles et al24), Malaysia (Al-Qazaz et al,27 Mohd Ali and Jusoff 200928), Spain (Gascon et al30), UK (Brown et al,32 Choudhury et al,33 Heymann et al,35 Peele et al37), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Fear of condition, its causes and complications | South Africa (Mshunqane et al29), UK (Choudhury et al,33 Lawton et al 200636), USA (Coronado et al38) |
| Stress from condition | Croatia (Vinter-Repalust et al25) |