Themes about medication-taking coded into higher order themes and super-ordinate categories
| Super-ordinate categories | Higher order themes | Themes |
| Beliefs about medication | Negative effects | Side effects212423 |
| Beliefs about consequences (negative outcomes)19 | ||
| Medicine perceived as a barrier to recovery22 | ||
| Positive effects | Beliefs about consequences (positive outcomes)19 | |
| Balancing pros and cons | Beliefs about consequences2018 | |
| Necessity versus concerns23 | ||
| Preference for natural therapy | Use of ‘natural’ lifestyle measures in cholesterol lowering therapy discontinuers, not reported with clopidogrel24 | |
| Beliefs about illness | Believe to be in good health | Considered as not serious21 |
| Believe health is good21 | ||
| Neutral health | Personal health feelings and beliefs21 | |
| Believe to be in bad health | Worsening condition21 | |
| Poor perception | Failure to recognise signs and symptoms of disease21 | |
| Future threat | Reduced sense of threat of disease with cholesterol lowering therapy discontinuers, higher with clopidogrel24 | |
| Recurrent event26 | ||
| Personal adherence factors | Memory, attention, decision processes | Memory/attention/decision processes192018 |
| Lack of continuity21 | ||
| Reinforcement19 | ||
| Forgetfulness23 | ||
| Self-regulation | Behavioural regulation192018 | |
| Self-medicating21 | ||
| Unhealthy lifestyle choices21 | ||
| Beliefs about capabilities19 | ||
| Social influences (pre-existing beliefs)19 | ||
| Identity19 | ||
| Willpower26 | ||
| A sense of competency26 | ||
| Personal preferences26 | ||
| Poor perception | Missed general cues21 | |
| Inaccurate perception21 | ||
| Prescription confusion24 | ||
| Determinism | Family history/fatalism21 | |
| Emotion | Denial21 | |
| Mistrust21 | ||
| Emotional toll19 | ||
| Distrust of doctors24 | ||
| Economic | Economic burden21 | |
| Cost24 | ||
| Living in areas of deprivation23 | ||
| Interpersonal adherence factors | General social | Social influence2018 |
| Social/professional role and identity2018 | ||
| Communication | Lack of/poor communication2125 | |
| Lack of effective communication21 | ||
| Education | Inadequate patient education21 | |
| Knowledge | Lack of knowledge2125 | |
| Knowledge1923 | ||
| Social influence (having knowledge)19 | ||
| Cholesterol lowering therapy patient knowledgeable yet discontinued24 | ||
| Clopidogrel less knowledge24 | ||
| Family | Lack of prompts from family and friends21 | |
| Family and relatives26 | ||
| Family support23 | ||
| Healthcare professionals | Unaware of cardiac rehabilitation21 | |
| Healthcare providers26 | ||
| Relying on health practitioner23 | ||
| Cardiac rehabilitation23 |