Beyene Kebede, Aspden Trudi, Sheridan Janie
The School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, the University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142 New Zealand.
J Pharm Policy Pract. 2016 Sep 9;9(1):23. doi: 10.1186/s40545-016-0075-5. eCollection 2016.
Prescription medicine sharing has been defined as the lending of medicines (giving prescription medicines to someone else) or borrowing of medicines (being given and using a medicine prescribed for another person). This qualitative study explored the views of patients, to elicit information regarding factors influencing medicine sharing behaviours, their experiences of the consequences of prescription medicine sharing, and their risk assessment strategies when deciding to share.
One-on-one, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were carried out in Auckland, New Zealand between September 2013 and August 2014 with 17 patients, purposively sampled to provide information from different socio-demographic backgrounds. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a general inductive approach. The study received ethical approval, and all interviewees provided written informed consent.
Findings were captured within five overarching themes: types of shared medicines; perceived benefits of sharing medicines; negative experiences of sharing; factors influencing sharing behaviours; and risk assessment strategies. Participants reported that sharing helped them to avoid treatment costs and the inconvenience associated with medical visits such as booking appointments. Conversely, unanticipated side effects, allergies, and taking inappropriate medicines were the main adverse consequences of sharing. Altruism, limited access to medicines/health services, sociocultural factors, and having unused prescription medicines were factors influencing sharing behaviours. Participants reported assessing the safety of sharing a medicine primarily based on symptom matching, past illness experiences, and knowledge about the medicines.
This study enriches previous survey findings, by providing insight into patients' reasons for medicines sharing. Healthcare providers should consider asking their patients about any medicines they have shared and their future sharing intentions, in order to use the opportunity for discussing safer sharing practices, without promoting the behaviour. The findings are helpful for informing the development of potential interventions and targeted educational messages about safe medicine use for patients.
处方药共享被定义为药品出借（将处方药给他人）或药品借用（接受并使用为他人开具的药品）。这项定性研究探讨了患者的观点，以获取有关影响药品共享行为的因素、他们对处方药共享后果的经历以及他们在决定共享时的风险评估策略的信息。
2013年9月至2014年8月期间，在新西兰奥克兰对17名患者进行了一对一、面对面的半结构化访谈，这些患者是经过有目的地抽样选取的，以提供来自不同社会人口背景的信息。访谈进行了录音，逐字转录，并采用一般归纳法进行分析。该研究获得了伦理批准，所有受访者均提供了书面知情同意书。
研究结果归纳为五个总体主题：共享药品的类型；共享药品的感知益处；共享的负面经历；影响共享行为的因素；以及风险评估策略。参与者报告称，共享有助于他们避免治疗费用以及与就医相关的不便，如预约挂号。相反，意外的副作用、过敏反应以及服用不适当的药物是共享的主要不良后果。利他主义、药品/医疗服务获取受限、社会文化因素以及有未使用的处方药是影响共享行为的因素。参与者报告称，他们主要基于症状匹配、既往疾病经历以及对药品的了解来评估共享药品的安全性。
本研究通过深入了解患者药品共享的原因，丰富了先前的调查结果。医疗保健提供者应考虑询问患者他们共享过的任何药品以及他们未来的共享意图，以便利用这个机会讨论更安全的共享做法，而不提倡这种行为。这些发现有助于为制定潜在干预措施以及针对患者的安全用药定向教育信息提供参考。
