Assessing the knowledge of private university students on self-medication practices, Malaysia

Abstract

Introduction: Self-medication is usually defined as an intake of any type of drugs for treatment without professional supervision to relieve an illness or a condition. College students prefer self-medication for minor illness to save time and money. The study aimed at assessing the knowledge on self-medication practice among medical and nonmedical university students. Materials and Methods: It is a prospective observational study and a total of 579 individuals were included. Study participants were selected by stratified random sampling from various faculties of a private university campus. Study population was divided into two groups as medical and nonmedical based on their faculty they belong to. A prevalidated questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge on self-medication practices. Questionnaire was distributed, and various data regarding their self-medication practice were collected and the collected data were analyzed using Chi-square test. Results: The collected data showed that the knowledge of medical students on self-medication was better than the nonmedical group, and the study participants staying at hostel use over the counter (OTC) s more than the others. Conclusion: Self-medication practice was common among the university students which show the need for education regarding the rational use of OTCs. By doing this, the drug-related problems can be avoided and OTCs can be rationally utilized.