Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among Medical Students

Abstract

Self-medication is a common practice worldwide and the irrational use of the drugs is a major cause of concern. Self-medication is an issue with serious global implication. The current study aimed to determine the Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior of self-medication by medical students. A descriptive cross- sectional study was conducted among medical students currently studying first year to assess knowledge, attitude and practice regarding self-medication in Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal. Seventy five students studying in first year were selected for the study using stratified random sampling technique and data was collected using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. The study finding revealed, the mean age of 75 enrolled students was 20 years, 65.3% were in the age group of 17-20 years. Most of them were female (72%). Seventy three point three percent belong to urban area. Prevalence rate of self-medication of one year period seems high i.e. 84% and 68.25% in were females. The most common sources of information used by the respondent were pharmacist (60.31%) and text book (46.03%). More than half of the respondent found to have a good knowledge about self-medication regarding definition, adverse effect and different types of drug. The attitude was positive towards self-medication and favored self-medication saying that it was acceptable. The principal morbidities for seeking self-medication include cold and cough as reported by 85.7% followed by pain 76.2%, fever 73%, diarrhea 47.6% and dysmenorrheal 46%. Drugs / drugs group commonly used for self- medication included analgesics 75.8%, and anta-acids 53.2% and antipyretic 46.3%. Among reasons for seeking self-medication, 79.2% felt that their illness was minor while 61.9% preferred as it is due to previous experience. This study shows that self-medication is widely practiced among first year students of this medical institution. There is dire need to make them aware about the pros and cons of self-medication in order to ensure safe usage of drugs.