Abstract
Background. Attitudes towards conventional and complementary medicine among future healthcare professionals can impact their future pharmacotherapy practice. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predisposing factors related to self-medication among medical and pharmacy students. Methods. This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, on first- and final-year students of medicine and pharmacy. The multivariate Poisson regression model with robust variance was used to identify the main predictors of self-medication. Results. The overall self-medication prevalence in the past year was 81.3%. Independent risk factors for self-medication identified in the regression analysis were the final study year, housing condition, i.e., living in a leased apartment or in a student dormitory in comparison to living with parents, and cigarette consumption. The conventional drugs were the most frequently used, mostly for the symptoms of cold and pain. Final-year students had more confidence in conventional medicines than in herbal drugs and were more aware of the risks of their concomitant use. Conclusion. Self-medication is highly prevalent among students of medical sciences, especially among final-year students. Increased medical knowledge led to the higher awareness of the drug interaction risks.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutralSelf-medication is a global phenomenon that has been receiving considerable attention within the healthcare systems worldwide [1]
Out of 564 questionnaires distributed by e-mail to the medicine and pharmacy students, the survey was completed by 192 students
The reasons against self-medication in our study were in agreement with the results obtained for students in other countries since around 30% of respondents in our study reported the risk of adverse effects and the wrong therapy as reasons deterring them from practicing self-medication [35,36]
Summary
Self-medication is a global phenomenon that has been receiving considerable attention within the healthcare systems worldwide [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), self-medication is defined as one element of self-care and represents the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms [2]. Patients often rely on herbal, traditional and homeopathic preparations, which are generally perceived as being more affordable, natural and safer than conventional drugs [5]. This is not necessarily true as all effective drugs may produce adverse reactions, and herbal medicines are no exception [6]. Many with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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