What influences seniors' choice of medications for osteoarthritis? Qualitative inquiry.

Objective: To explore with seniors what influences their choice of medication for osteoarthritis.

Design: Qualitative study using semistructured in-depth interviews.

Setting: Interviews were conducted in patients' homes in two cities in Nova Scotia.

Participants: Seniors with a physician-confirmed diagnosis of osteoarthritis.

Method: Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. A grounded-theory approach was used. Key words and phrases were identified independently by all members of the research team who then collectively grouped the data into conceptual categories.

Main Findings: Four themes emerged from discussions about medication choices: the role of family physicians in influencing use of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, the effect of fear of making medication choices, the reasons for discontinuing cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and views on other information sources. Distribution of free samples, family physicians' recommendations, and fear of side effects influenced seniors' choices of osteoarthritis medications. They claimed not to be influenced by direct-to-consumer advertising or the fact that cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors are more expensive than other classes of drugs for osteoarthritis.

Conclusion: Because seniors' choice of medications for osteoarthritis is often influenced by physicians' recommendations and distribution of free samples, further research into how distribution of free samples affects medication choices in family practice is needed.