Abstract
Aim: The aim of our study is to assess the attitude, knowledge and practice of self-medication among fifth year Pharmacy Students at Near East University in Northern Cyprus.
 Study Design: A cross sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in faculty of pharmacy in Near East University in Northern Cyprus on 28 of December 2018.
 Methodology: A 7- part self administered questionnaire was used among fifth year pharmacy students who were available during the study time.
 Results: A total of 77 questionnaires were distributed to be filled by respondents, all of them were filled completely and collected. 88% of the participants in our study were in the prevalent age group of 22-26 years and most of these students were from Turkey (58.3%). 25.7% of students visited a physician when they had a disease, however 25% of them didn’t comply with physician’s prescription. Headache (16.8%) and common cold (14.0%) were the most frequently reported illness for which self-medication was taken. Analgesic medicines (37.4%), followed by vitamins (29.7%) and antibiotic (13.5%), were used commonly as self-medication. Nearly all of students 95.9% knew the meaning of OTC and prescription only drugs. About 30.7% of students medicated themselves because it isn’t a serious disease. The main source of information about self-medication for students was the advice from pharmacist (29.7%). 26.8% of students agreed that pharmacists are good source of information for minor medical problems, 18.2% agreed that self-medication is acceptable for pharmacy students however 4.1% accepted that self-medication is not acceptable at all and it would be harmful.
 Conclusion: The practice of self-medication is prevalent amongst fifth year pharmacy students even with adequate knowledge and awareness about the consequences. Proactive pharmacist may contribute in management of minor illness and rationalized self-medication.
Highlights
The practice of self-medication is prevalent amongst fifth year pharmacy students even with adequate knowledge and awareness about the consequences
The practice of self-medication is a growing trend [3] which generally involves over-the-counter (OTC) medications which are available without prescription in pharmacies and includes prescription-only medicines (POM) [4], reutilizing/resubmitting a previous prescription, sharing medications with relatives or members of one’s social circle, consuming leftover medicines already available at home, failure to comply with prescribed recommendations either prolonging it or interrupting it too early or decreasing or increasing the originally prescribed dose [5]
The questionnaires include; demographic information’s which includes gender, age and nationality, the second part consists of disease or symptoms frequently selftreated by the students, procedures taken for the illness, source of information for self-medication and the students’ attitude of towards selfmedications
Summary
Self-medication is a global component of selfcare practice and can be defined as “the selection and use of medicines/medicinal products, including herbal and traditional products on one’s own initiative, or on the advice of another person, without consulting a physician either for diagnosis, prescription or surveillance of the treatment [1,2].The practice of self-medication is a growing trend [3] which generally involves over-the-counter (OTC) medications which are available without prescription in pharmacies and includes prescription-only medicines (POM) [4], reutilizing/resubmitting a previous prescription, sharing medications with relatives or members of one’s social circle, consuming leftover medicines already available at home, failure to comply with prescribed recommendations either prolonging it or interrupting it too early or decreasing or increasing the originally prescribed dose [5].Self-medication has both benefits and risks. Self-medication is a global component of selfcare practice and can be defined as “the selection and use of medicines/medicinal products, including herbal and traditional products on one’s own initiative, or on the advice of another person, without consulting a physician either for diagnosis, prescription or surveillance of the treatment [1,2]. The practice of self-medication is a growing trend [3] which generally involves over-the-counter (OTC) medications which are available without prescription in pharmacies and includes prescription-only medicines (POM) [4], reutilizing/resubmitting a previous prescription, sharing medications with relatives or members of one’s social circle, consuming leftover medicines already available at home, failure to comply with prescribed recommendations either prolonging it or interrupting it too early or decreasing or increasing the originally prescribed dose [5]. Inappropriate self-medication can lead to irrational drug usage, wastage of resources, increased chances of microbial resistance to antibiotics, increased risk of adverse reactions, drug interactions, drug addiction and prolonged morbidity [6,8].
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