Factors influencing self-medication among students of Abadina College, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey to investigate the factors which influence the self- medication practices of 400 students of Abadina College, Ibadan, a co-educational secondary school. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from the respondents about their demographic characteristics, general information about the availability of medication in the home, their recent illness experiences and the decisions taken during the illness. Results show that the majority of respondents reported that medication, including various pain relieving drugs, anti-malaria drugs, blood tonics and antibiotics, are commonly found in their homes and that they had used the medications found at home for the following reasons: belief in the efficacy of the drugs, past experience, availability, low cost and saving of time. More male than female students practised self-medication, and slightly more Christians than Muslims and other types of religion practised self-medication. Parents were the main factor that influenced students' self- medication. Slightly more than half of the fathers of respondents had had tertiary education. The most common pain relieving drugs reported to be found at home were paracetamol and Panadol. Others included Phensic, Novagin, Daga and Aspirin, while reported anti-malaria drugs found at home consisted of Chloroquine, Nivaquine and Fansida. Antidepressants such as Valium and Librium were also reported to be found at home. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that school-based drug education be introduced in both primary and secondary schools and be implemented through the collective responsibility of parents, schools and the whole community.