Table 1.
Items assessing barriers to medication adherence (N=237)
| Barrier Item | Participants reporting the barrier (%) |
Average score among participants reporting the barrier from a2 = “a little” to 10 = “a lot” (M ± SD) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Information | I think brand name medicine works better than generic medicine | 40% | 6.2 ± 3.1 |
| I’m disappointed when my medicine doesn’t improve my diabetes right away | 37% | 6.4 ± 2.8 | |
| I’m not sure what my diabetes medicine is supposed to do | 16% | 5.6 ± 2.5 | |
| I think taking medicine won’t help control my blood sugars or prevent me from having complications | 16% | 5.5 ± 2.6 | |
| I’m not sure why my doctor sometimes changes my dose or type of medicine | 15% | 4.7 ± 2.5 | |
| I think it is OK to skip or stop taking my medicine on my own | 14% | 5.2 ± 2.6 | |
| I think diabetes medicine is not important when I feel well | 9% | 4.9 ± 2.3 | |
| I think medicine isn’t important for managing diabetes | 7% | 6.2 ± 3.0 | |
| Personal Motivation | I feel burned out with having to take diabetes medicines | 36% | 6.3 ± 2.6 |
| I worry that taking diabetes medicines for a long time will be bad for me | 34% | 6.6 ± 2.8 | |
| I’m afraid of experiencing a side effect from my diabetes medicine | 31% |
6.1 ± 2.9 | |
| I believe diabetes medication can be harmful | 27% | 5.2 ± 2.8 | |
| I believe my health will get worse no matter how often I take my medicine | 25% | 6.2 ± 2.6 | |
| bI am afraid of the side effects of taking insulin | 26% | 5.8 ± 2.6 | |
| My diabetes medicine is unpleasant to take | 25% | 5.4 ± 2.6 | |
| I worry that taking diabetes medicines will cause me to gain weight | 21% | 6.3 ± 2.4 | |
| Social Motivation | Juggling other responsibilities makes medicine difficult | 30% | 4.9 ± 2.3 |
| Friends and family nag and annoy me about remembering to take my medicine | 28% | 5.5 ± 3.0 | |
| bI am embarrassed to take my insulin in front of other people | 24% | 6.3 ±3.0 | |
| When my family or friends remind me to take my medicine, it makes me feel like a child | 18% | 5.5 ± 3.0 | |
| I feel embarrassed when taking medicine in front of others | 13% | 5.9 ± 2.8 | |
| bI worry that people judge me because I take insulin | 13% | 5.3 ± 2.3 | |
| I feel others judge me for taking diabetes medicine | 10% | 5.4 ± 2.9 | |
| The people I care about don’t support my efforts to take my diabetes medicines | 9% | 5.0 ± 2.5 | |
| People close to me say taking my medicine isn’t important | 3% | 6.7 ± 3.1 | |
| Family or friends say I shouldn’t take diabetes medicine | 3% | 4.1 ± 2.7 | |
| Behavioral Skills | I forget to take my medicine | 49% | 4.0 ± 2.3 |
| bI have problems with pain when injecting insulin | 32% | 4.9 ±2.7 | |
| I have trouble paying for medicine | 30% | 6.1 ±2.7 | |
| I forget to order refills | 25% | 4.2 ± 2.1 | |
| I have trouble picking up refills | 20% | 4.3 ± 2.7 | |
| I have trouble reading medicine labels | 19% | 6.4 ± 2.7 | |
| bTaking insulin disrupts my daily activities | 20% | 4.4 ± 2.5 | |
| Taking diabetes medicine disrupts my daily activities | 16% | 4.9 ± 2.5 | |
| My daily medicine routine is too complicated to keep track of | 12% | 5.0 ± 2.7 | |
| It is hard for me to ask my doctor about problems with my diabetes medicine | 6% | 4.0 ± 2.7 | |
a
Barriers not reported (i.e., barrier cards placed in the “Never” pile for the card sorting task) were scored as 1
b
Only assessed among participants prescribed insulin