Table 2.
Medication management, diabetes self-management, and participants’ opinions about their medications and pharmacists
| Variable | Total Ne | %a (N) or mean (SD; min-max) |
|---|---|---|
| Medication management | ||
| Type of diabetes | 790 | |
| Type 1 | 11.4% (90) | |
| Type 2 | 72.0% (569) | |
| Other or unknown | 16.6% (131) | |
| Frequency of pharmacy visits | 747 | |
| ≥ 1 time per week | 6.7% (50) | |
| 2–3 times per month | 30.1% (225) | |
| 1 time per month | 35.3% (264) | |
| < 1 time per month | 27.8% (208) | |
| Number of medications per day | 773 | |
| 1–3 medications | 29.4% (227) | |
| 4–6 medications | 41.9% (324) | |
| 7–9 medications | 19.7% (152) | |
| ≥ 10 medications | 9.1% (70) | |
| Antidiabetic medication | 788 | |
| Excluding insulin or other injectables | 43.0% (339) | |
| Including insulin or other injectables | 57.0% (445) | |
| Diabetes self-management | ||
| Participation in one or more diabetes education courses | 771 | |
| Yes | 35.4% (273) | |
| No | 64.6% (498) | |
| Stanford Diabetes Self-efficacy overall scoreb | 755 | 7.5 (1.8; 2.1–10.0) |
| Participants’ opinions about their medications | ||
| “Medications that are prescribed to me are important” | 768 | |
| Disagree | 4.2% (32) | |
| Agree | 95.8% (736) | |
| “I fear that prescribed medication are more harmful than beneficial” | 757 | |
| Disagree | 86.4% (654) | |
| Agree | 13.6% (103) | |
| “Non-reimbursed medications are burdensome for me” | 760 | |
| Disagree | 27.9% (212) | |
| Agree | 72.1% (548) | |
| Positive opinion about medications on all 3 itemsc | 770 | |
| Yes | 23.6% (182) | |
| No | 76.4% (588) | |
| Participants’ opinions about pharmacists | ||
| “Pharmacists are experts in medications, side effects and medication interactions” | 741 | |
| Disagree | 6.3% (47) | |
| Agree | 93.7% (694) | |
| “Pharmacists are health professionals, just like physicians or nurses” | 734 | |
| Disagree | 15.7% (115) | |
| Agree | 84.3% (619) | |
| “Pharmacists are just shopkeepers who sell products in pharmacy” | 722 | |
| Disagree | 85.9% (620) | |
| Agree | 14.1% (102) | |
| Positive opinion about pharmacists on all 3 itemsd | 764 | |
| Yes | 65.5% (500) | |
| No | 34.6% (264) | |
a Due to rounding, the sum of the percentages is not always equal to 100%
b The Stanford Diabetes Self-efficacy overall score ranges from 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a higher level of self-efficacy
c Composite variable for opinion about medication: respondents answering agree, disagree, and disagree to the three items, in that order, were considered to have a positive opinion
d Composite variable for opinion about pharmacists: respondents answering agree, agree, and disagree to the three items, in that order, were considered to have a positive opinion
e The total number of respondents for each item varies since data were collected through a self-administered paper questionnaire and participants were free to not answer certain questions