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Table 2 Reasons for non-adherence to medication in paediatric patients and the interventions employed by study participants in order to improve adherence to medication in their paediatric patients

From: Adherence to treatment in paediatric patients – results of the nationwide survey in Poland

 

N

%

Reasons for non-adherence to medication

 Forgetfulness

514

49.8

 Lack of disease symptoms

380

36.8

 Frequent dosing schedule

375

36.3

 An unacceptable dosage form of medicine

364

35.2

 Discouragement with long-term treatment

312

30.2

 Misunderstanding of the disease and treatment goals

296

28.7

 Drug adverse effects

288

27.9

 High out-of-pocket drug costs

276

26.7

 Lack of trust in the doctor

82

7.9

 Poor access to medical facilities

32

3.1

Interventions employed to improve adherence to medication

 I educate child’s parents / guardians about the nature of the disease and the goals of treatment

753

72.9

 I inform child’s parents / guardians about the consequences of non-adherence to medication

561

54.3

 I detail the dosage regimen in a written form (on the sheet of paper / in a table)

552

53.4

 I prescribe drugs administered less frequently

341

33.0

 I schedule frequent check-ups

236

22.9

 I prescribe inexpensive drugs

212

20.5

 I try to use drugs with good organoleptic parameters

115

11.1

 I choose drugs without adverse effects

82

7.9

 I write out prescriptions for a longer period of time during one visit

54

5.2

 I check the number of prescriptions issued in a given period of time

48

4.7

  1. Notice: survey participants were asked to choose three most important reasons, and three interventions they employ most often, out of those listed; percentages calculated for the total N = 1.033 respondents