Abstract
When facing illness, a person may choose self-treatment as an alternative to hospital (and primary care)-based treatment. Despite its important role in health care, the study on self-treatment remains limited. The goal is to collectively report the observations in the literature on the prevalence, characteristics, and effects of self-treatment. Databases (Medline/PubMed and Google Scholar) were searched. Articles were scrutinized for country of origin, sample size, recall period, prevalence, associated factors, etc. Published studies have reported that in some regions, the prevalence of self-treatment is high and varies across illness conditions and treatment approaches. Self-medication is the most popular self-treatment approach. Multiple regional, demographic, personal, cultural, and religious factors have been implicated in the pursuit of self-treatment. In addition, accessibility of health care also plays a role. In general, self-treatment has a positive clinical and financial effect. However, there have been concerns on abuse and possible negative effects. This article reviews observations made in recent studies on several important aspects of self-treatment. Comprehensive and systematic study is still lacking. Interventions are needed to solve several problems associated with self-treatment.
Highlights
When facing illness, a person may choose hospital-based treatment or self-treatment
Articles were scrutinized for country of origin, sample size, recall period, prevalence, associated factors, etc
This article reviews observations made in recent studies on several important aspects of self-treatment
Summary
A person may choose hospital (and primary care)-based treatment (which includes inpatient and outpatient treatments) or self-treatment. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [5], self-care is defined as “the activities that individuals, families, and communities undertake, with the intention of enhancing health, preventing illness, limiting illness, and restoring health.” By this definition, it is noted that a person pursuing self-care or self-medication may be for the purpose of enhancing health, and it is not necessary to have illness. Selftreatment refers to “the scenario where a person uses non-prescription drugs or other approaches to cope with illness conditions” [3], which has the same meaning as “a treatment of oneself without professional help, to alleviate an illness or a condition” [4] By this definition, self-medication involves the utilization of drugs and is a special form of self-treatment
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