Table 3.
Reasons for missing medication doses by race
| Blacks (n=128) |
Whites (n=354) |
Difference (Blacks- Whites) |
P value for difference |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean number of reasons provided | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.01 |
| Lack of knowledge | ||||
| Doesn’t know what dose to take (%) | 6.2 | 2.3 | 3.9 | <0.001 |
| Not sure exactly what each medication is for (%) | 7.7 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 0.04 |
| Complexity of regimen | ||||
| Too hard to keep track of what to take and when (%) | 16.2 | 8.6 | 7.6 | 0.01 |
| Too many doses each day (%) | 20.0 | 8.6 | 11.4 | 0.002 |
| Lack of perceived benefits | ||||
| Doesn’t feel medications are helping (%) | 12.5 | 8.0 | 4.5 | 0.08 |
| Taking medications means health will get worse (%) | 7.1 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 0.08 |
| Dislike of medications/side effects/medication-related symptoms | ||||
| Doesn’t like taking medications in general (%) | 18.5 | 10.4 | 8.1 | 0.04 |
| Experienced side effects (%) | 22.8 | 13.4 | 9.4 | 0.004 |
| Heard about potential side effects (%) | 17.7 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 0.002 |
| Unpleasant to take (%) | 8.5 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 0.10 |
| Clinical barriers | ||||
| Doesn’t have time to ask doctor or nurse about problems (%) | 8.4 | 4.7 | 3.7 | 0.03 |
| Hard to ask doctor or nurse about medication-related problems (%) | 10.7 | 3.4 | 7.3 | 0.001 |
| Forgetfulness | ||||
| Forgets to take medications (%) | 48.5 | 40.1 | 8.4 | 0.47 |
| Forgets to ask about medication-related problems (%) | 14.5 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 0.04 |
Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) shown in bold