Self-medication practice among medical students in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: The rise in trends of self-medication, particularly among medical students without being aware of its consequences, especially during the COVID pandemic, has raised a major concern. Self-medication may lead to unintended consequences, such as adverse events, unnecessary expenses, delay in attending professional evaluation, masking of symptoms, and drug interactions. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence, practice, and pattern of self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical students. Materials and Methods: In October 2022, a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted using a validated, pretested questionnaire. Information regarding the demographic details, symptoms that led to self-medication, various drugs used, source of drug information, drug used/drug groups used, and reasons for self-medication during COVID-19 were all described in terms of frequency and percentage. Results: In the present study, 80% of the students practiced self-medication. Fever and headache were the most common symptoms for which self-medication was taken. Paracetamol and azithromycin were the most common drugs used for self-medication. Forty-four percent of the students used medical formulas from the previous consultation as the source of drug information, and 16% from the Internet. About 85% of students obtained the drug from a pharmacy. Thirty-two percent of the students self-medicated because they had symptoms of COVID-19 and 29% as a preventive measure. Conclusion: Self-medication was widely practiced by medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a need to educate medical students through various measures about the rational use of self-medication.