Abstract
Background: Self-medication practice is the use of medications without healthcare professional requests. It can lead to inappropriate medication usage, wastage of resources, increased chance of microbial resistance, and adverse drug reactions. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence and associated factors of self-medication practice among teachers’ education training college students in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted on 344 teachers’ education training college students in the Amhara region, Ethiopia, from January 1 to February 28, 2020. Data on sociodemography, the practice of self-medication, and factors associated with self-medication practice were collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire. Systematic random sampling was used to select participants. Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were done to determine various variables and factors associated with self-medication practice. Results: Out of the 344 respondents, 234 (68.0%) practiced self-medication. The most commonly cited indication for self-medication practice was headache (75, 32.05%), followed by abdominal discomfort (53, 22.6%). The respondents who were older than 26 years of age (AOR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.18–3.94), were in the third year of study (AOR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.94–5.79), lived in urban residence (AOR: 2.97, 95% CI: 1.06–3.64), had accessibility to a nearby pharmacy (AOR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.43–4.46), and had peer/family pressure (AOR: 2.34, 95% Cl: 1.53–3.56) were significantly associated with self-medication practice. Conclusion: More than two-thirds of the study participants practiced self-medication. Being from an urban area, having access to a private pharmacy, and higher year of study positively affect self-medication practice.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, self-medication is the selection and use of medicines to treat selfrecognized illnesses or symptoms (Organization, 2010)
The result showed that respondents aged 21–25 years were 2.47 times more likely to practice self-medication (AOR: 2.47, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.18–3.94) than those aged16–20 years
Those who had accessibility to pharmacies were nearly two times (AOR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.43–4.46) more likely to experience self-medication practice compared to those who had no accessibility to pharmacy
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, self-medication is the selection and use of medicines to treat selfrecognized illnesses or symptoms (Organization, 2010). Inappropriate self-medication practice results in wastage of resources, increases the chance of drug resistance, and causes serious health problems such as adverse drug reactions, treatment failure, misuse of medications, and drug dependence (Bekele et al, 2016). The study conducted in Iran showed that more than two-thirds of individuals had a history of self-medication practice (Karimy et al, 2019; Shokrzadeh et al, 2019). Despite the increased practice of selfmedication among students all over the world, the majority are unaware of the harmfulness of self-medication (Gore and Madhavan 1994; Johnson et al, 2016; Karimy et al, 2019). This study aimed at assessing the prevalence and associated factors of selfmedication practice among teachers’ education training college students in the Amhara region, Ethiopia
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