Using 17th century medication for modern diabetes management: Doctors' perceptions of self-medication practices - A qualitative study

Rahul Krishna Puvvada; Clarice Y Tang; Jency Thomas; Mitch Kay; Peter Higgs; Markandeya Jois; Ramesh Madhan; Sabrina Gupta

doi:10.1007/s40200-022-01154-5

Using 17^th century medication for modern diabetes management: Doctors' perceptions of self-medication practices - A qualitative study

J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2022 Nov 12;22(1):375-383. doi: 10.1007/s40200-022-01154-5. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Rahul Krishna Puvvada^{1

2}, Clarice Y Tang^{3

4}, Jency Thomas¹, Mitch Kay⁵, Peter Higgs^{5

6}, Markandeya Jois¹, Ramesh Madhan², Sabrina Gupta⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology Anatomy Physiology and Pharmacology (MAPP), School of Agriculture Biomedicine and Environment (SABE), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
² Department of Pharmacy Practice, JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru, Karnataka India.
³ Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Allied Health Department, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Department of Public Health, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁶ Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore doctors' perceptions and understanding of the self-medication practices of people living with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A qualitative research design incorporating 20 semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with doctors treating people with type 2 diabetes in Mysuru, India, between July 2019 and January 2020. All the interviews were conducted in doctors' clinics, audio-recorded and thematically analyzed.

Results: Three themes were identified from these interviews- i) Doctors' beliefs towards their patients' use of traditional medicine and environmental factors influencing prescription practices, ii) Doctors reported little faith in traditional medicines, iii) Limited strategies implemented by doctors to overcome barriers to self-medications. Doctors reported greater belief in western medications over traditional medications and expressed concern that their patients favored traditional medications over western. Multiple factors such as social media, accessibility of healthcare facilities and pill burden influenced adherence to western medications. Also, lack of knowledge about traditional medications and trust in western medications available under government schemes have influenced prescription practices among doctors. It appears that doctors implemented strategies such as educating patients on the detrimental effects of self-medication and insisting on patients to take only western medications to achieve desired blood glucose levels when managing self-medication practices among people with diabetes.

Conclusion: These results suggest that doctors have limited strategies to implement to prevent self-medication practices among people with diabetes. Increasing knowledge amongst doctors about JAS medication effectiveness and thereby garnering greater trust in generic medications. In addition, efforts should be made to identify the best ways to integrate traditional and western medicine into patient-centered care delivery.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-022-01154-5.

Keywords: Doctors; India; Perception; Self-Medication; Type 2 Diabetes.