Patients' attitudes to medicines and expectations for prescriptions.
BACKGROUND
Recent research has shown that patients' expectations for prescriptions influence doctors' prescribing decisions, but little is known of the antecedents of these expectations.


OBJECTIVE
To test earlier qualitative research about patients' views of medicines; to describe the demographic characteristics of those holding orthodox and unorthodox views of medicines; to investigate the relationship between patients' ideal and predicted expectations for prescriptions; and to determine the relative effects of attitudinal, demographic, organizational and illness variables on these expectations.


METHODS
Questionnaire survey of patients consulting general practitioners.


METHODS
A total of 544 patients and 15 doctors in four general practices.


METHODS
Patients' attitudes to medicines; patients' demographic characteristics; organizational variables; aspects of patients' presenting problems.


METHODS
Patients' ideal and predicted expectations for prescriptions.


RESULTS
Orthodox and unorthodox attitudes to medicines can be measured quantitatively, and ethnicity was the only demographic variable associated with both. Ideal and predicted expectations for prescriptions were closely related to each other but differed in their antecedents. Both types of expectations were associated with attitudinal, demographic, organizational and illness variables. Ideal expectations were influenced by orthodox and unorthodox attitudes to medicines, while predicted expectations were only influenced by orthodox attitudes.


CONCLUSIONS
Future studies of patients' expectations for health services should distinguish between ideal and predicted expectations, and should consider the range of possible influences on these expectations. In particular, the effect of the organization and context of health services should be investigated.
Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Guy's King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, King's College, London, UK. nicky.britten@kcl.ac.uk
Nicky
N
Britten
Obioha C
OC
Ukoumunne
Mary G
MG
Boulton
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004358:Drug Therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires