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

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.

Factors affecting self-medication practices among people living with type 2 diabetes in India- A systematic review.

Self-medication practices of type 2 diabetes in India include the use of both traditional and western medications. It is important to understand the factors influencing self-medication. A total of 3257 studies were screened and nine studies (six quantitative and three qualitative) were included. The Hawker tool and Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tool were used to assess the quality of studies. The findings of the quantitative studies were descriptively analysed while thematic analysis was performed to identify key themes from the qualitative studies. The analysis indicated that participants had greater trust in traditional medications regardless of their socioeconomic and/or educational backgrounds as these were often recommended by friends and family members. Low cost, ease of availability and perceived lower side effects of traditional medications were some of the factors contributing to greater trust. It is suggested that ongoing management of type 2 diabetes requires stringent policies and regulations in the dispensing of traditional and western medications. Continual education to inform people on the use of self-medications and its possible adverse effects is also required.