Table 4.
Beliefs about medication (BMQ) and risk perception scores according to specific conditions and medication use
| Condition | BMQ sectiona | With condition using medicines | With condition without medicines | p value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | Mean (SD) | |||
| Heartburn | Overuse | 11.7 (2.6) | 12.4 (2.7) | 0.001 |
| Harm | 9.3 (2.4) | 10.1 (2.5) | <0.001 | |
| Benefit | 16.3 (2.1) | 15.6 (2.5) | <0.001 | |
| Constipation | Overuse | 12.0 (2.4) | 12.0 (2.6) | 0.890 |
| Harm | 9.4 (2.5) | 9.6 (2.5) | 0.326 | |
| Benefit | 16.3 (2.0) | 15.9 (2.2) | 0.155 | |
| Nausea | Overuse | 11.7 (2.8) | 12.0 (2.7) | 0.334 |
| Harm | 9.2 (2.7) | 9.6 (2.5) | 0.198 | |
| Benefit | 16.1 (2.2) | 16.0 (2.2) | 0.737 | |
| UTI | Overuse | 11.5 (2.8) | 12.6 (2.7) | 0.006 |
| Harm | 9.3 (2.7) | 10.4 (2.9) | 0.014 | |
| Benefit | 16.3 (2.2) | 14.9 (2.3) | <0.001 |
| Risk perception ofb | Median (IQ) risk score among women taking medication | Median (IQ) risk score among women not taking medication | p value# |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTC nausea medication among women with nausea | 3 (2–5) | 4 (2–5) | 0.036 |
| Paracetamol among women having pain conditions | 1 (0–2) | 2 (1–5) | <0.001 |
| Antibiotics among women with UTI | 3 (2–5) | 5 (3–7) | 0.001 |
UTI urinary tract infection, OTC over-the-counter, IQ interquartile
* Independent samples t test; Overuse, harm and benefit all normally distributed
#Data not normally distributed; Mann–Whitney U test
aRange 4–20 for each section where higher scores indicated higher agreement
bRange 0–10 for each medication where higher score indicate perception of greater harm for the foetus