PREVALENCE AND PATTERN OF SELF MEDICATION AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Self-medication is common among health care professionals due to their professional exposure to drugs and knowledge of treatment of their disease. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and pattern of self-medication practice among healthcare workers in a tertiary health facility in Northeast Nigeria. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Stratified sampling technique was employed to select eligible participants from the groups of various healthcare professionals. Thereafter simple probability sampling by balloting was used to select the required number of from for each stratum of healthcare workers. A self-administered semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used to gather the necessary information. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. The mean age of the respondents was 33.1 ± 2.3 years. The prevalence of self-medication was found to be high at 84.6%. The largest group of the healthcare workers practising self-medication were the allied health workers 37.5% comprising Pharmacists, Laboratory Scientists, and Health Record Personnel. The commonest reason given for self-medicating was being familiar with treatment options for their medical conditions 45.5%. Analgesics were the most common medications taken as self-medication, 68.2%. Among the respondents who engage in self-medication, 6.3% had experienced side effects, of which the commonest side effect was acute exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease 46.1%. Conclusion: There was high prevalence of self-medication among the healthcare workers. Familiarization with treatment options for medical conditions accounted for most reason why the respondents self-medicate.