Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Trends of Self-Medication Practice and Its Hazard Perception for Oral Health Problems among Patient

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of sociodemographic factors with the trends of self-medication practice and its hazard perception among patients METHODOLOGY: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted on the patients visiting Sharif Medical and Dental College from June 2019 to June 2020. Data was collected using a validated questionnaire from 142 patients. Chi-square and fisher exact tests were used to find the association of trends of self-medication practice and hazard perception with sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The patients in the age range of 18 to 29 years practiced self-medication the most. The triggering factor for use of medication was toothache among all ages. The most commonly used drug was reported to be analgesics. The main reason for self-medication was lack of time to visit the doctor. The females practiced self-medication more than the males. The triggering factor for both the genders was toothache and analgesics were mostly used. The patients with tertiary level education and those who were unemployed practiced self- medication the most. The triggering factor was toothache across all levels of education and employed as well as unemployed patients. Drug resistance was stated the main hazard. CONCLUSION: The triggering factor for use of medication was toothache, most commonly used drugs were analgesics and the main reason for self-medication was lack of time across all ages, both the gender, married and unmarried patients, levels of education and employment. Un-employed patients and those with tertiary level of education-practiced self- medicated themselves the most. The highest percentage of patients considered drug resistance to be the biggest hazard.