A qualitative study of cardiac rehabilitation patients’ perspectives on taking medicines: implications for the ‘medicines-resistance’ model of medicine-taking

摘要

BackgroundThe appropriate use of medicines continues to be an important area of inter-disciplinary research activity both in the UK and beyond. Key qualitative work in this area in the last decade has included the ‘medicines resistance’ model of medicine-taking, which was based on a meta-ethnography of 37 qualitative studies. This model proposed that patients approach medicine-taking as ‘passive accepters’, ‘active accepters’, ‘active modifiers’ or ‘complete rejecters’, of which the latter two categories were considered to show ‘resistance’ to medicines. However, critical assessment of the model appears to be currently lacking, particularly in terms of its use in clinical practice. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature in this area by critically examining the practical application of the model in light of the findings from a qualitative, follow-up study of cardiac rehabilitation patients’ perspectives and experiences of using medicines.