Table 2.

Definitions and origins of the principal themes in the study.

Theme	Definition of Theme	Interview Question Generating the Theme
Medication use concerns	Older-adult concerns potentially influencing their decisions about the dosage, frequency, and timing of the selected OTC medication.	How would you take this medication? -How often? -How many? -What time of day?
Following label instructions	Older-adult intentions to follow label instructions on the medication bottle when describing their potential OTC medication use.	How would you take this medication? -How often? -How many? -What time of day?
Wait time to medication effect	Older-adult interpretations of the amount of time they would wait for the medication to begin alleviating symptoms of a condition.	How long would you wait to see if the medication is working?
Response to medication not working	Older-adult perceptions of strategies in response to insufficient or no therapeutic effect of selected OTC medication.	What would you do if the medication did not work? -Would you take another pill that night? -Increase the dose the next day?
Decision to stop medication	Older-adult explanations about how they decide to stop taking a medication.	How would you decide when to stop taking the medication? -How long would you keep taking it if it was working?
Sources to seek information	Older-adult preferences of reliable sources to consult in case they require information on how to use the selected medication.	What would you do if you needed more information about how to take this medication?
Safety implication	Older-adult knowledge and beliefs on problems arising from the selected medication and interactions with existing health conditions/other medications.	What health problems might come from taking this medication? Is this medication safe to take with the other medications you take? Is this medication safe to take with your health conditions?