Survey on Junior High School Student's Attitudes toward Rational Drug Use and the Educational Effect by School Pharmacists

Abstract

The educational intervention could improve knowledge about rational drug use in the junior high school. Improving knowledge about rational drug use at an early age may be a good way to increase the population's awareness of health, medicines and self-medication. To educate the rational drug use, it is desirable that the school pharmacists participate in this educational program in the junior high school. So we conducted an educational lecture by school pharmacists to promote rational drug use and self-medication in junior high school students. The study compared participant responses before and after a lecture. After the first questionnaire, we lectured the mentioned above to them. Afterward, second questionnaire was conducted. In the second questionnaire, more than 95% of the students understood the contents of the lecture to some extent. After a lecture, students who answered that 'I don't have confidence that I can buy medicines rightly by myself' decreased from 42.7% to 11.7%. And students who answered that 'I don't have confidence that I can use medicines rightly by myself' decreased from 25.2% to 12.6%. It was possible to achieve a favorable modification of attitudes to rational use of medicines in junior high school students. Continuous interventions might allow better effects and could help to fill the gap in health education of the general population.