Overview of the 5 themes into which the respondents’ reasons were grouped.
| Themes | Examples of Reasons Mentioned | No. Quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Symptom severity | Pain, fatigue, disability. | 46 |
| Experiences with medication | Previous experience with medication for other diseases or current experience with DMARD, side effects. | 61 |
| Perceptions about medication and the illness | Expectations about medication, confrontation with having a chronic illness by the use of medication. | 89 |
| Information about medication/knowledge acquisition | In the early phase, patients started gathering information. Information obtained from the rheumatologist, the medication information leaflet, or by searching the Internet. | 15 |
| Communication style and trust in the rheumatologist | The rheumatologist should build toward a trustful relationship, for instance by acknowledging fears about medication and explaining the treatment plan in detail. | 54 |
DMARD: disease-modifying antirheumatic drug.