Assessment of habit of self-medication among non-teaching staff of private dental institute

Abstract

Background: Self-medication refers to the use of medicines without prescription to treat self-identified illness. It is a worldwide prevalent practice. It is a common scenario that personnel engaged in health-care setup are closely related to the medicines which physicians prescribe, as a result of which they practice self-medication as well as prescribe medication to others also. The present study is aimed at assessment of habit of self-medication among nonteaching staff of VSPM Dental College.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the habit of self-medication among nonteaching staff of VSPM Dental College and Research Centre (DC and RC), Nagpur. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 65 nonteaching staff of VSPM DC and RC, Nagpur. The informed consent was obtained from the participants. A prevalidated questionnaire was distributed among them, and data were collected by interview survey method.Results: Self-medication was highly prevalent among the participants of the present study. 53.48% of participants often self-medicate and 74% of them advised medications to others also. Majority of them (54.28%) were taking self-medication, as it was a time-saving option for them; 27.14% among them said that there is no need to visit a physician in case of minor illness. 69.80% of them visit a doctor only in case of serious illness, and very few, i.e., 12.30% were going for regular checkup.Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication practices was alarmingly high in the present study. The holistic approach must be taken to prevent this problem from rising which would involve awareness and education regarding the implications of self-medication.