Patients' decisions about whether or not to take antihypertensive drugs: qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE To describe the ways in which patients taking antihypertensive drugs balance reservations against reasons for taking them. DESIGN Qualitative study using detailed interviews. SETTING Two urban general practices in the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS Maximum variety sample of 38 interviewees receiving repeat prescriptions for antihypertensives. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Interviewees' reservations about drugs and reasons for taking antihypertensives. RESULTS Patients had reservations about drugs generally and reservations about antihypertensives specifically. Reasons for taking antihypertensive drugs comprised positive experiences with doctors, perceived benefits of medication, and pragmatic considerations. Patients weighed their reservations against reasons for taking antihypertensives in a way that made sense for them personally. Some individual patients weighed different reservations against different reasons for taking antihypertensives. CONCLUSIONS Patients' ideas may derive from considerations unrelated to the drugs' pharmacology. Doctors who want their patients to make well informed choices about antihypertensives and to reach concordant decisions about prescribing should explore how individuals strike this balance, to personalise discussion of drug use.