• Vinita Mahtani-Chugani, Emilio Sanz-Alvarez, and Carlos de Las Cuevas-Castresana.
• Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y Gerencia de Atención Primaria, Tenerife, Spain. vinitavivek@hotmail.com
• Aten Primaria. 2012 Aug 1; 44 (8): 463470463-70.

ObjectiveTo identify the consumption pathway and strategies of coping with antidepressants use from the patients perspective.DesignQualitative research.SettingTenerife.SamplingTheoretical sampling until saturation.MethodA total of 17 open interviews with patients who consumed antidepressants whether combined with tranquilisers or not. The age range was between 35-85 years, and there were 13 women. Ten lived in a more urban setting and the rest in rural areas. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a modified Grounded Theory supported by the software program ATLAS.ti.ResultsThe process identified as coping with antidepressants, was called "struggling internally and externally." It consisted of the individual assessment of the benefits and risks of medication use (internal struggle), addressing stigma and social pressure (external struggle). The outcome of the assessment made by patients may lead to different strategies for adjusting to drug treatment: "unconditional acceptance", "resigned acceptance" or "forced acceptance".ConclusionsUnderstanding the evaluation process that the patient needs to go through, given the internal and external struggle in which they are immersed, can be useful to develop interventions that improve medication use. In fact, physicians have an important role, although not always explicitly sought in resolving the dilemma posed by patients using antidepressant drugs and, therefore, reducing the length of patient suffering.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

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