Abstract
BackgroundSelf-medication is defined as using medicinal products to treat the disorders or symptoms diagnosed by oneself. Although informed self-medication is one of the ways to reduce health care costs, inappropriate self-treatment can pose various risks including drug side effects, recurrence of symptoms, drug resistance, etc. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacy and medical students toward self-medication.MethodsThis study was conducted in Zabol University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Overall, 170 pharmacy and medical students were included. A three-part researcher-made questionnaire was designed to address the students’ knowledge, attitude, and practice. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS 25 software.ResultsAccording to the results, 97 (57.1%) students had carried out self-medication within the past 6 months. Overall, the students self-medicated on average 4.2 ± 2.9 times per year. Self-medication was more common in male students (65.4%, P = 0.043). Cold was the most common ailment treated with self-medication (93.2%), and antibiotics (74.4%) were the most commonly used drugs. The primary information sources used by the students were their previous prescriptions (47.4%). Pharmacy students had a higher level of drug information (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant association between the level of drug information and the tendency for self-medication (P = 0.005). Disease recurrence was the most common negative complication of self-medication.ConclusionThere is a need to educate pharmacy and medical students regarding self-medication and its side effects. The high prevalence of self-medication and the overuse of antibiotics can pose a significant risk of drug resistance.
Highlights
Self-medication is defined as using medicinal products to treat the disorders or symptoms diagnosed by oneself
The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the pharmacy and medical students studying at Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Sistan and Baluchestan province in the south-east of Iran in 2018
Our study showed that 57.1% of the pharmacy and medical students of Zabol University of Medical Sciences who participated in the study had at least one episode of self-medication during the past 6 months
Summary
Self-medication is defined as using medicinal products to treat the disorders or symptoms diagnosed by oneself. Informed self-medication is one of the ways to reduce health care costs, inappropriate selftreatment can pose various risks including drug side effects, recurrence of symptoms, drug resistance, etc. Self-medication is defined as using medicinal products to self-medicate disorders or their symptoms. The prescription of medicines for oneself without having specialists’ advice can cause many side effects including drug resistance and complications, as well as prolonged disease course [2]. Responsible self-medication includes using over the counter (OTC) and relatively low-risk drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms [3], which can prevent mild illnesses and thereby reduce health care financial costs. Medical history, contraindications, concomitant comorbidities, potential adverse effects, and response to treatment should be precisely monitored
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
