ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to assess the negative effects of some factors on medicine-taking behavior. For the patients taking oral medication who visited a health insurance pharmacy, we enacted the actual situation of medication and conducted an attitude survey on the feeling of burden and resistance of taking the drugs. The survey also covered the factors that can influence medicine-taking behavior and the extent of the influence. For differences in each factor such as patient characteristics, lifestyle, and medication status, we used the 2 test to analyze the association with medicine-taking behavior. We found significant differences in age, dietary habits, occupation, periodic consultation with the pharmacy/doctor, and unpleasant experiences. In addition, in patients with multiple factors that cause noncompliance with medication, we observed a strong influence of age and occupation. From the factor analysis, we obtained data on time, quantity, and pharmaceutical factors (three factors called regular factors). These factors negatively influenced the use of medication by the patients. Next, in the covariance structure analysis, the influence of time and the quantity factor on medication-related stress was the observed to be the strongest, whereas the influence of the regular factors was not significant. Furthermore, there were differences in the influence of these factors depending on patient characteristics.