Study of Self-medication among First and Seventh Semester Medical and Dental Undergraduate Students of Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Jyoti Tara Manandhar Shrestha,Pratigya Bhattarai,Saurabh Tiwari,Dilip Kumar Kushwaha

doi:10.31729/jnma.5385

Jyoti Tara Manandhar Shrestha, Pratigya Bhattarai + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.5385

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Abstract

Although appropriate self-medication can ease minor illness and is time and costeffective, it can lead to irrational drug use and increased resistance, leading to prolonged morbidity. Inclined towards medical information and drug indices, medical students have an open arena for self-medication practice. This study was conducted to find the prevalence of self-medication among first and seventh semester medical and dental students in a tertiary care hospital. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and dental undergraduates from July 2020 to August 2020 after receiving ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (IRC Approval Number:35/20). A questionnaire was responded to by participants through a google form. Participants were enrolled through the convenience sampling method. Data were collected and entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Out of 199 respondents, the prevalence of self-medication was 100 (50.3%) (46.76-53.84 at 95% Confidence Interval). First semester medical 36 (73.5%) and dental undergraduates 24 (80%) had higher practice. Seventh-semester medical students 14 (51.9%) usually self-medicated within one day of onset of symptoms. Headache 47 (47%) was the most common indication. Analgesics 62 (62%) were most commonly used drugs procured most commonly from pharmacies 114 (57.3%). Dosage form was drug selection criteria for 120 (60.3%) students. Since self-medication is crammed with serious health hazards, proper exposure to the topic should be given to medical, dental students, and pharmacists. The implication of selfmedication into the pharmacology syllabus is a must.

Highlights

Appropriate self-medication can ease minor illness and is time and costeffective, it can lead to irrational drug use and increased resistance, leading to prolonged morbidity
This study was conducted to find the prevalence of self-medication among first and seventh semester medical and dental students in a tertiary care center
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in medical and dental students of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel during July 2020 to August 2020 after receiving approval from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of the same institution

Summary

Introduction

Appropriate self-medication can ease minor illness and is time and costeffective, it can lead to irrational drug use and increased resistance, leading to prolonged morbidity. Self-medication is the treatment of self-recognized disorders or symptoms using drugs or continuation of medicines prescribed for recurring physical or psychological ailments outside the formal health care system without a doctor's prescription.[1,2,3] Appropriate self-medication can ease minor illness and is time and cost-effective within limited resources.[4] Spurious selfmedication can lead to irrational drug use, increased pathogen resistance, health hazards, adverse drug reaction, and prolonged morbidity.[5]. Medical students have better access to health care information and facilities, creating an open arena for self-medication practice.[6] Inclined towards medical information and drug indices, they get a ground to perform self-diagnosis and self-medication.

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