Knowledge and Reasons for Use of Analgesic Medications among Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Science Students, Harar Town, East Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Analgesics, NSAIDs and opioids, commonly known as painkillers, are substances which work in various ways to relieve different types of pain experienced in the body. Approximately 25% of the patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs face several adverse events even in case of prescribed drug and several cases of deaths are reported. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess knowledge and reasons for use of analgesic medications at Haramaya University, College of Health and Medical Science students of Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia from March 1 2020 to February, 2021. Method: Institution based cross sectional study was conduct from March 1, 2020 to February 30, 2021. Data was collected using self-administered structured questionnaire prepared in English. Stratified sampling and simple random sampling was used to select the study participants. A total sample size of 317 was taken. Then the collected data was coded, entered and analyzed by using statistical package for social science version 23. The result is presented using tables. Results: The 90.5% of participants had used analgesic in their life time and the 63.8% them had used analgesic in the last six months. The analgesic usage prevalence in of the study is Ibuprofen (28.7%), Diclofenac (25.7%) and Paracetamol (21.7%). The 78.5% of the respondents reported that large dose of Paracetamol may cause liver. With regard to the use of alcohol with paracetamol, the 77.8% of the respondents replied that alcohols should be avoided when Paracetamol is being taken. The 60.7% of the respondents were aware of the daily maximum dose of Paracetamol. The 78.3% of respondents replied that long time use of codeine can cause addiction. In the current study the 32.4%, 13.2%, and 12.5 %, of the respondents took analgesics for the reason of headache, menstrual pain and fever pain management respectively. The 38.7% of the respondents chose the analgesics due to previous experience, the 19.9% by reading a publication and the 17.5% based on recommendations from others. Conclusion: This study showed the majority of the participants used analgesics for different reasons mainly for management of headache, menstrual pain and fever. Significant proportions of the study participants lack the appropriate knowledge about analgesics usage of analgesics.