Table 2 Categorization of Themes and Subthemes
I. Perceived barriers to medication adherence | |
 A. Medication cost | 1. High cost of insulin 2. High doctor visits fees 3. High cost of glucose monitor test strips 4. High cost of psychological consulting classes |
 B. Treatment characteristics | 1. High number of prescribed medications 2. Taking medications several times a day 3. Worrying about the side-effects of diabetes medicines 4. Long period of treatment 5. Increasing the medication dose over time |
 C. Personality traits | 1. Not responsible 2. No respect for oneself and others 3. Attracting the pity and attention of family 4. Anxiety and restlessness |
 D. Situational influences | 1. Party 2. Traveling 3. Early morning 4. Outdoors 5 Watching TV 6. Shopping 7. A gap between buying medications again 8. Irregular meals |
 E. Inadequate knowledge | 1. Lack of knowledge about diabetes 2. Lack of knowledge about the effectiveness of medication treatments for the control of diabetes |
 F. Inadequate perceived threat about diabetes | 1. Not accepting the diabetes as a disease 2. Not taking the diabetes seriously |
II. Perceived social support | |
 A. Family support | 1. Reminding the time of taking medications 2. Preparing the medicines 3. Recalling the complications of diabetes 4. Helping to follow-up the disease 5. Understanding the patient 6. Helping with insulin injection |
 B. Doctor support | 1. Eliminating the patient’s fear of insulin 2. Being highly responsible for the control of diabetes 3. Being able of correct diagnosis 4. Giving morale to the patient 5. Spending time and responding patient’s questions 6. Appropriate behavior with the patient 7. Encouraging the patient to take regular medication 8. Informing about the complications of the irregular use of the medications 9. Describing the relationship between the medication and disease 10. Writing multiple prescriptions with more medication simultaneously |
 C. Community support | 1. Giving information through mass media 2. Supporting to provide the medications 3. Increasing the insurance coverage |
III. Medication beliefs | |
 A. Belief in the effectiveness of treatment | 1. Belief in controlling diabetes by regular medication use 2. Belief in the effectiveness of taking the pills for controlling the blood glucose 3. Belief in the effectiveness of insulin injection than the pills use in controlling blood glucose |
 B. Belief in the more effectiveness of complementary therapies than medication use | 1. Belief in the effectiveness of exercise than medication use in controlling the level of blood glucose 2. Belief in the effectiveness of having proper nutrition than insulin use in controlling the level of blood glucose 3. Belief in the effectiveness of herbal medications than modern medications in controlling the level of blood glucose |
 C. Prioritizing the use of the pills instead of insulin injection | 1. Having pills being easier than the insulin injection 2. Pills being cheaper than insulin 3. Fear of needle and insulin injection 4. Difficulty with insulin injection 5. Decreasing morale due to insulin injection 6. More negative social stigma to insulin use 7. Existing difficult cconditions for keeping insulin outdoors 8. Negative family insight about the insulin injection 9. Feelings of disease progression following the insulin injection 10. Having good feeling about the use of the pills instead of insulin injection 11. Predicting death following the insulin injection 12. Appearing diabetes complications (such as kidney loss) following the insulin injection |
IV. Cues to action | |
 A. Internal cues | 1. Habit of taking medication 2. Fear of diabetes-related complications |
 B. External cues | 1. Setting the alarm to remind the time of medications use 2. Presence of medication in front of the eyes |