Table 2.
Patients’ attitudes towards deprescribing based on the rPATD questionnaire (n=316)
| Survey questions | Strongly disagree | Disagree | Agree | Strongly agree | Strongly agree/Agree, % (95% CI) | |
| Burden factor | ||||||
| B1 | I spent a lot of money on my medicines. | 87 (27) | 15 (4.7) | 84 (26.6) | 130 (41.1) | 67.7 (63 to 73) |
| B2 | Taking my medicines every day is very inconvenient. | 104 (32.9) | 92 (29.1) | 107 (33.9) | 13 (4.1) | 38 (32.6 to 43.4) |
| B3 | I feel that I am taking a large number of medicine. | 88 (27.8) | 68 (21.5) | 135 (42.7) | 25 (7.9) | 50.6 (45 to 56) |
| B4 | I feel that my medicines are a burden to me. | 114 (36.1) | 80 (25.4) | 110 (34.8) | 12 (3.8) | 38.6 (33 to 44) |
| B5 | Sometimes I think I take too many medicines. | 134 (42.4) | 69 (21.8) | 105 (33.2) | 8 (2.5) | 35.7 (30 to 41) |
| Appropriateness factor | ||||||
| A1 | I feel that I may be taking one or medicines that I no longer need. | 144 (45.6) | 65 (20.6) | 95 (30.1) | 12 (3.8) | 33.9 (29 to 39) |
| A2 | I would like to try stopping one of my medicines to see how I feel without it. | 257 (81.3) | 29 (9.2) | 21 (6.6) | 9 (2.8) | 9.4 (6 to 13) |
| A3 | I would like my doctor to reduce the dose of one or more of my medicines. | 133 (42.1) | 49 (15.5) | 104 (32.9) | 30 (9.5) | 42.4 (37 to 48) |
| A4 | I think one or more of my medicines may not be working. | 7 (2.2) | 24 (7.6) | 281 (88.9) | 4 (1.3) | 90.2 (87 to 93) |
| A5 | I believe one or more of my medicines may be currently giving me side effects. | 114 (36.1) | 70 (22.2) | 121 (38.3) | 11 (3.5) | 41.8 (36 to 47) |
| Concerns about stopping factor | ||||||
| C1 | I would be reluctant to stop a medicine that I had been taking for a long time. | 109 (34.5) | 119 (37.7) | 65 (20.6) | 23 (7.3) | 27.9 (23 to 33) |
| C2 | If one of my medicines was stopped I would be worried about missing out on future benefits. | 9 (2.8) | 25 (7.9) | 122 (38.6) | 160 (50.6) | 89.2 (86 to 93) |
| C3 | I get stressed whenever changes are made to my medicines. | 87 (27.5) | 81 (25.6) | 132 (41.8) | 16 (5.1) | 46.9 (41 to 52) |
| C4 | If my doctor recommended stopping a medicine I would feel that he/she was giving up on me. | 146 (46.2) | 82 (25.9) | 63 (19.9) | 25 (7.9) | 27.8 (23 to 33) |
| C5 | I have a bad experience when stopping a medicine before. | 186 (58.9) | 47 (14.9) | 45 (14.2) | 38 (12.0) | 26.5 (21 to 31) |
| Involvement factor | ||||||
| I1 | I have a good understanding of the reasons I was prescribed each of my medicines. | 59 (18.7) | 44 (13.9) | 168 (53.2) | 45 (14.2) | 67.4 (62 to 73) |
| I2 | I know exactly what medicines I am currently taking, and/or I keep an up to date list of my medicines. | 114 (36.1) | 126 (39.9) | 65 (20.6) | 11 (3.5) | 24.1 (19 to 29) |
| I3 | I like to know as much as possible about my medicines. | 71 (22.5) | 54 (17.1) | 162 (51.3) | 29 (9.2) | 60.5 (55 to 66) |
| I4 | I like to be involved in making decisions about my medicines with my doctors. | 32 (10.1) | 93 (29.4) | 165 (52.2) | 26 (8.2) | 60.4 (55 to 66) |
| I5 | I always ask my doctor, pharmacist or other healthcare professional if there is something I don’t understand about my medicines. | 19 (6.0) | 40 (12.7) | 161 (50.9) | 96 (30.4) | 81.3 (77 to 86) |
| General questions | ||||||
| G1 | If my doctor said it was possible I would be willing to stop one or more of my regular medicines. | 22 (7.0) | 36 (11.4) | 74 (23.4) | 184 (58.2) | 81.6 (77 to 86) |
| G2 | Overall, I am satisfied with my current medicines. | 9 (2.8) | 16 (5.1) | 120 (38.0) | 171 (54.1) | 92.1 (89 to 95) |
Adopted from the revised Patients’ Attitudes towards Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire.17