Prevalence of Self-Medication and Its Factors among University Students in Bandar Abbas City

Abstract

Background: Self-medication can lead to the latency of the real severity of disease, delay in diagnosis, a complication of treatment, threatening side effects, and unexpected intoxication. The present research aimed to explore the prevalence of self-medication and its factors among students affiliated to Bandar Abbas universities in 2016. Materials and Methods: This Descriptive Analytic study was performed on 600 students affiliated to the universities in Bandar Abbas; Islamic Azad University, Payam-e-Noor University, and University of Medical Sciences. The sample was selected through a stratified sampling method, and the data were collected by a questionnaire comprised of two parts, demographic information (6 items), and risk factors of self-medication and self-medicated drugs (26 items). SPSS version 19 was used to analyze the data through the required tests. Result: The mean age of the students was 24.11±5.85 years. One hundred and ninety-one subjects (31.8%) were male, and 409 (68.2%) were female. The results revealed the prevalence of self-medication in the target population was 80.2%., the main reasons for self-medication were reported underestimating the disease 461(77.0%), previous experience of the disease 457(76.4%), repeated prescription 441(73.6%), and easy access to drug 423(70.6%). The most prevalent drugs self-medicated by students were acetaminophen, herbal medicines, antibiotics, other drugs, sedatives, and anti-acids, respectively. Conclusion: Considering the high prevalence of self-medication (80.2%) revealed in this research, there is a need for more attentive care for consistent education and drug consumption culture promotion. Specific approaches can help the provision of easy access to medical services in universities.