Drug Self-medication Research Articles

Abuse of self-medication for orodental problems among populace in rural areas of central India

Context: The practice of self-medication has been recognized since ages. There has been enough literature available regarding it being there for medical illnesses; however, there is a relative dearth of information about it being there for orodental causes. The present study was planned to determine the abuse of self-medication for orodental causes and the reasons for resorting to it. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in rural areas of Central India with 230 consenting participants selected by random sampling and interviewed with the aid of an 18-point, closed-ended question-based, semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Nearly 63.59% of the participants admitted they had resorted to self-medication without any consultation. Odontalgia was the most common reason, for which people resorted to self-medication (57.69%). Seventy percent of the participants did not have the knowledge about the dose, duration, adverse drug reactions, and interactions of drugs with other drugs they had been using. Paracetamol was the most commonly abused drug for self-medication. Conclusion: Analgesics were the most common drugs abused for self-medication. Adequate health education of the populace was found mandatory to make people aware of the use and misuse of drugs and regarding the potential adverse effects and drug interactions they might have led to, especially, when used repeatedly or on a chronic basis. Furthermore, dental health-care services were supposed to be made more readily available and affordable so that self-medication among populace in rural areas could be checked effectively

Health seeking behavior and self-medication practice among undergraduate medical students of a teaching hospital: A cross-sectional study

IntroductionHealth seeking behavior is any activity undertaken by individuals who find themselves with a health-related problem with the aim of seeking an appropriate remedy. It includes decision making that is not homogenous among all as it is determined by different demographic factors. Self-medication and alternative medicine are also choices made by an individual that comes under health care seeking behavior. This study aimed to put light on the health seeking behavior of undergraduate medical students and to assess how they deal with their illnesses, including the practise of self-medication. MethodsIn this web-based cross-sectional study, conducted among undergraduate medical students, a total of 210 students were selected through a systematic sampling method. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequency was calculated for all the variables. The Mann-Whitney U or Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to see if any difference existed in the response. A significant association was declared at a p-value less than 0.05. ResultsResponse from 208 respondents was received and among those 88.9% of the respondents were aware of physical, mental and social aspects of health; about 40.8% of the respondents sought help only when their symptoms got worse; while 27.4% of them sought the help of alternative medicine. Around 74.2% of the respondents took medicines without a proper prescription and the commonly self-medicated drug group was NSAIDs. ConclusionsThe knowledge of medical science has not satisfactorily ensured better health-seeking behavior and good practices. Also, there is high prevalence of self-medication practice among medical students.

Patterns and Factors Influencing Self-Medication among Students of The American International University West Africa (Aiuwa), The Gambia

Aims/Objectives: This study aimed to throw more light on how common self-medication is, among the American International University West Africa (AIUWA), The Gambia’s student population, the common patterns, and the factors that aid or prevent self-medication among the students.
 Materials and Methods: This study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. A sample of 168 AIUWA students was collected online. Qualitative data was hardcoded and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable binary logistic regression to determine the correlation between factors for, and outcomes of self-medication.
 Results and Discussion: 38.9% of the respondents practiced self-medication. The most common rationale for self-medication is the perception of the illness to be mild (42%) and having similar symptoms in the past (36.2%). Other reasons were availability of home remedies (26.1%) or drugs for self-medication (20.3%), emergency use (17.4%), and because self-medication saves time. The least common reasons given for self-medicating were clinic being far away (2.9%) and being a health worker or practicing nurse (1.4%). Knowledge from the past experiences of an illness (51.5%) and online sources (26.5%) were the most common sources of knowledge for self-medication. The most common medications used are Paracetamol (60.9%) and antibiotics (46.4%) and the most common conditions treated are headache (52.2%) and cold symptoms (46.4%). Less than half of the respondents (46.4%) self-medicated according to the recommended duration, 42% were sure that they did not take the medication for the correct duration of time and 11.6% did not even bother to check. Almost all the participants who self-medicated said that the medication solved the health condition they treated. Majority of the students who practiced self-medication preferred orthodox medicines to alternative medicines. By far, the most common source of drugs for self-medication was the drug store (81.4%), followed by friends and family (16.7%), drugs stored at home (15.7%), and home remedies (15.7%). Most of the students sometimes read the prescribing information before using a medication, and 51.2% do not support the idea of self-medication. In addition, self-medication was significantly associated with being a student in the health science center (p<0.001), married (p<0.05) or single (p<0.05), and being in or beyond the third year of studies (p<0.05). 
 Conclusions: Almost half of the respondents admitted to having practiced self-medication because they perceived their illness to be mild. Students who were significantly more likely to self-medicate were those in the health science center, those who are married or single, and those who have reached or passed the third year of studies.

Prevalence and reasons for practicing self-medication among basic health staff: case of Monywa District, Myanmar: a cross-sectional study

Background: Self-medication is often associated with an incorrect diagnosis, wrong medication, delayed effective medical care, disease masking, prolonged-course therapy, and harmful effects following medication. This study aimed to demonstrate self-medication prevalence and detect the reasons for practicing self-medication among BHS.Methods: Researchers conducted this cross-sectional study within four township health departments of Monywa District. A total of 405 BHS was culled from each subpopulation of BHS through proportional sampling. SPSS version-25 was applied for data analysis.Results: This study demonstrated that the self-medication prevalence among BHS was 57.8%, of which self-medication of antibiotics was 61.5%. The most common reasons for self-medication were cold, cough, fever, ache and pain in the head, throat, teeth, muscles, and bones, gastrointestinal symptoms, and high blood pressure. Commonly practiced self-medication drug was pain relievers (86.8%) and the most preferred antibiotic self-prescribed was amoxicillin (26.5%). Other drug types used for self-medication were cold and cough medicines, gastro-intestinal medicines, vitamins and minerals, and anti-hypertensive, contraceptive, hypoglycemic, and herbal medicines. Mostly, self-medication practices were based on own experiences (83.3%), easy access and availability of medicines (82.5%), academic knowledge of the diseases (41%), and treatment options (47.4%), considering the symptoms as minor (29.5%).Conclusions: A high prevalence of self-medication occurred among BHS. This study points out that BHS needs to be more comprehensive about safety, regulations, and rational use of medicines. This study suggests that the Myanmar technical working groups should enforce the National medicines policy.

A Study on the Evaluation and Impact of Self Medication Practice Among the Pharmacy Students

Aim: To evaluate the impact of self medication practice among the pharmacy students of Andhra Pradesh in this study.
 Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted among the pharmacy students by using the questionnaire which was circulated by means of Google forms to various pharmacy colleges located in Andhra Pradesh, India. Students from the pharmacy colleges with both the genders of all age groups were included and students other than pharmacy stream were excluded from the study.
 Results: In this study, a total of 473 pharmacy students were involved in order to evaluate the impact of self-medication practice among them. Most of the study participants used self-medication for headache (52%) followed by fever (38.3%) and cough (25.6%). Majority of the study participants used the drug paracetamol (78%) followed by cetirizine (38.9%) and multivitamins (25.8%) as self-medication. In this study, almost half of the study participants (48.4%) have searched the internet for selecting the drug for self-medication as most of the study participants were from urban areas. Most of the study participants always used to check the prescribing the information before self-medicating themselves (75.1%).
 Conclusion: Searching the treatment strategies for specific medical conditions over the internet was becoming a common phenomenon in the present generation. Responsible utilization of the self medication definitely results in positive outcomes. Hence, students should have the awareness in the aspects of rational drug usage while practicing the self medication.

A review of self-medication practices among students of health-care professions in India

The principles of medication management include storing, ordering, dispensing, and administration of the medications. Each of these steps is equally important to achieve the maximum benefits of the medicines. However, self-medication is common across the globe where these principles are severely compromised. Self-administration of medication is an approach in which an individual uses a medicine or drug to treat any symptoms or diagnosed disorder. It is an individual's initiative to take medicines without consulting a doctor and commonly used to gain personal independence and autonomy to treat minor illness. Its prevalence in developing countries is significantly high and ranges from 12.7% to 95%. This review examines self-medication practices among students of various health-care courses. The search criteria included studies published from 2008 to 2018. All studies that explored the use of self-medication practices among the Indian students of various health-care professions were retrieved. Three major databases Google Scholar, PubMed, and Shodhganga were searched. The keywords used for search included “self-medication,” India, prevalence, students, medical, dental, nursing, pharmacology, and physiotherapy. In total, 106 articles were reviewed, 21 of these studies met the inclusion criteria. The number of total participants across all studies was 7271. Overall, 5875 (80.80%) participants were practicing self-medication. Analgesics, antipyretics, antibiotics, antacids, and anti-allergic drugs were commonly used drugs for self-medication. Some studies also revealed that students have poor knowledge regarding drug reactions, and this can significantly compromise patient safety. Whereas, the study reveals that the practice of self-medication among the students is alarmingly high. This presents a significant challenge to patient safety and also poses a threat to public health in view of ever-increasing antibiotics resistant. The government must take immediate actions to regulate over-the-counter medication availabilities and also ensure a wider education program for the public.

Self-medication among Medical Students and Staffs of a Tertiary Care Centre during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Self-medication is a common practice worldwide. Major problems related to self-medication are wastage of resources, increased resistance of pathogens, adverse reactions, and prolonged suffering. This study aimed to find the prevalence of self-medication among medical students and staffs of a tertiary care centre during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical students and staffs of a tertiary care centre from 1st November to 30th November, 2021. Ethical clearance was taken from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 2710202102). Convenience sampling was done to reach the sample size. Online questionnaires consisting of information on self-medication and socio-demographic characteristics were used. The data was transferred into an Excel spreadsheet and later was exported to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20 for analysis. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Among 383 participants, the prevalence of self-medication during the pandemic was 193 (50.4%) (45.39-55.40 at 95% Confidence Interval). About half of the respondents 90 (50.3%) who self-medicated purchased the medicines directly from the pharmacy. The most consumed medicines were Paracetamol 128 (18.9%), Vitamin C 126 (18.6%), Zinc 86 (12.7%), Multivitamins 75 (11.1%), and Vitamin D 65 (9.6%) followed by Azithromycin 54 (8%), cough syrup 53 (7.8%) and Ibuprofen 46 (6.8%). The prevalence of self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic is lower compared to that of other developing countries. Paracetamol and Vitamin C are the most consumed drugs for self-medication and Azithromycin is the most used prescription-only drug for self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Self-care behaviors and safety concerns toward self-medication among the general public in Ajman, United Arab Emirates: An exploratory survey

Background: Self-medication offers advantages but raises multiple safety-related questions. There are different factors that influence the self-medication patterns among different population, such as age, income, gender, self-care-orientation, educational level, expenditure, satisfaction, and known seriousness of the illness. Data on self-care behavior and safety concerns among the general public are lacking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study assessed the general public's self-care behaviors and medication safety concerns among the general public. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey was conducted among the 210 general public in Ajman, UAE, from December 2019 to February 2020. The filled surveys, entered in SPSS 26, were analyzed applying Chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests with an alpha value = 0.05. Results: Of the respondents, 152 (72.3%) have participated in self-medication with no association seen between education (P = 0.107), gender (P = 0.185), age (P = 0.122). The commonly self-medicated ones were over-the-counter medications (n = 103; 41.37%) and antibiotics (n = 66; 26.51%). Seventy-two percentage (n = 151) stopped the self-medicated drugs if the underlying conditions improved which was not influenced by age (P = 0.327), gender (P = 1.00), or educational qualifications (P = 0.338). Sixty percentage (n = 126) checked the side effects of the self-medicated drugs before taking them, a habit influenced by education (P = 0.015), gender (0.002), and age group (P = 0.014). Half of the respondents (n = 105; 50%) stopped medications if they experience side effects a practice largely influenced by age (P = 0.0.30). Of the respondents 77.6% (n = 163) checked the medicine leaflets for drug information and the ease of obtaining an antibiotic was easy among 19.62% (n = 20) respondents; P = 000 (education), 0.006 (age); 65.7% (n = 138) of respondents check for allergy before self-medicating (P = 0.014, education), 13.3% (n = 28) felt the drugs that do not require a prescription is safe for everyone (P = 0.012, education). Conclusion: Self-medication is rampant and often used for symptomatic management. Antibiotics were also self-medicated by nearly one-fourth of respondents. Education had a significant influence on self-medication practices and safety concerns. Innovative strategies may be needed to contain irresponsible self-medication practices among the general public.

Knowledge and attitude of medical students toward self-medication.

Self-medication is promoted in many countries for several reasons such as prevention of simple diseases and symptoms, provision of rapid treatment, simpler health system diseases, and reduction of doctor's examination fees in health funds. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of self-medication among medical students in Tikrit University. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Tikrit University College of Medicine from December 15, 2017 to March 15, 2018. The sample consisted of 225 students, out of which 113 were males and 112 were females. Samples were selected in a stratified, random sampling design from all stages of the college. The data were collected using a questionnaire which was administered by interviewers and email. About 81.3% of the medical students who enrolled in the study used self-medications. The frequency of self-medication among the clinical stages was higher than the basic stages. Headache (92%) was the common reason for self-medication practice among people, followed by fever (64%) and common cold (58.6%), according to the opinion of the medical students. Doctors' advice was the main source of information that the students (64%) depended on, followed by advice from pharmacists (47.5%). Most of the respondents had poor knowledge (72.8%), but more than half of the students had a positive attitude (67.25%) toward self-medication. Countless understudies were distinguished to rehearse self-medicine, and a large portion of the respondents had helpless information; however, they had a great demeanor about self-prescription. Commonness of self-medication drug increments as year of study increments. This might be because of expanded review openness to illnesses and prescriptions. Hence, it is unequivocally suggested for raising the issue of direction to edify the understudies about the issues that might emerge from unseemly drug use.

Analisa Tingkat Pengetahuan dan Perilaku Masyarakat Terhadap Penggunaan Antibiotik di Kelurahan Dawi-Dawi, Kecamatan Pomalaa, Kabupaten Kolaka, Provinsi Sulawesi Tenggara

Antibiotics are an effective therapy diseases caused by bacteria so that patients or the public sometimes use them as self-medication drugs. Due to the lack of knowledge and behavior of the community this can lead to cases of antibiotic resistance. The purpose was to determine the level of knowledge and behavior of the community towards the use of antibiotics in Kelurahan Dawi-Dawi, Southeast Sulawesi province. The knowledge and behavior of the community was obtained using a simple descriptive method, cross sectional, with an instrument in the form of a questionnaire that could be distributed to the community to be analyzed regarding the level of knowledge and behavior. This research has involved 196 test respondents. The results showed that the profile of the characteristics of the respondents were mostly female, 35-44 years old, last graduated from high school and worked as a housewife. For the overall results of Kelurahan Dawi-Dawi, Southeast Sulawesi province, having sufficient knowledge 42.9% and sufficient behavior 49.0%. The results of the test of the relationship between knowledge and people's behavior were obtained for the correlation coefficient value using the Spearman formula is Has a moderate correlation of 0.357, a significance of 0.000 with the direction (+).

Self-medication Practice in Primary Dysmenorrhea among Nursing Students: A Cross Sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Self-medication and home remedies are most commonly employed for relief from menstrual discomfort in female students. Self-medication practice varies among adolescent female students. Hence, this study aims to observe and analyze self-medication practice and drugs used for primary dysmenorrhea among nursing students.
 MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted at Janaki Medical College and College of Nursing, Sinha Health Foundation, Dhanusha from October 2019 to December 2019, among nursing students of various academic years of intermediate level and bachelor level through structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 21.0.
 RESULTS: Out of 156 female students, the mean age of menarche was 13.20±1.53, interval of menstrual cycle was 30.29±7.26. Majority (82.1%) of the female students reported lower abdominal pain during menstrual bleeding, of which 48.4% had pain for less than 1 day, 47.7% had pain for 1-3 days and 3.9% had pain for more than 3 days. Self-medication practice was observed in 35.20 % of students while 60.20% of them practiced resting in bed for pain relief during menstrual bleeding. The most commonly self-medicated drug was mefenamic acid (64.4%), followed by paracetamol (40%), ibuprofen (26.7%) and nimesulide (13.3%).
 CONCLUSIONS: Self–medication of drugs was found to be lower in primary dysmenorrhea among nursing students. Therefore, education programs on the drawbacks of self-medication of drugs needs to be implemented; properly and timely.

LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF MEDICINE AT HOME IN THE COMMUNITY OF BANJARBARU CITY, SOUTH KALIMANTAN

In Indonesia, the percentage of household-scale drug storage is quite large. People keep drugs for self-medication. Drugs should not be stored carelessly because it will affect the stability of the drug. In addition, the improper disposal of drugs still occurs in the community. Improper disposal of drugs can harm the environment. It is important for the public to have the correct knowledge regarding drugs in order to avoid the adverse health effects of themselves and the environment. The purpose of this study was to describe the level of knowledge of the people of Banjarbaru City about the storage and disposal of drugs at home. This research is descriptive analytic cross sectional approach with sampling technique using quota sampling. The population of this research is the entire community of Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan. The sample size used in this study based on the Lemeshow sample calculation formula was 247 respondents. The data was taken with a validated questionnaire. The data obtained were analyzed using percentages. A total of 247 respondents met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the majority of them were 38-47 years old, had high school and college education and worked as housewives. The level of knowledge of the people of Banjarbaru City about storing medicines at home is 39.2% less knowledge, 44.5% sufficient knowledge and 16.1% good knowledge. The level of knowledge of the people of Banjarbaru City about disposing of drugs at home is 52.6% with poor knowledge, 40.5% sufficient knowledge and 6.8% good knowledge. The knowledge of the people of Banjarbaru City about storing drugs at home is included in the sufficient level (44.5%). While the knowledge of the people of Banjarbaru City about the disposal of drugs at home is included in the level of less (52.6%).

Mucociliary clearance in COVID-19 - an underestimated danger area in early phase of disease?

Hintergrund: Wie bei anderen entzündlichen Atemwegserkrankungen weist auch bei COVID-19-Patienten der (trockene) Husten darauf hin, dass die mukoziliäre Clearance (MCC) mindestens in Gefahr, wenn nicht überlastet, geschädigt oder weitgehend funktionslos ist. Husten ist ein wichtiger sekundärer Mechanismus, der erst ersatzweise die bronchiale Reinigung übernimmt, wenn die MCC ausgefallen ist.Methode: In der Übersichtsarbeit werden Physiologie und Pathophysiologie der MCC geschildert und ihre mögliche Rolle in der Pathogenese von COVID-19 beleuchtet.Ergebnisse und Schlussfolgerungen: Humane und tierexperimentelle Studien sowie Autopsieberichte weisen darauf hin, dass die MCC auch für die COVID-19-Pathogenese bedeutend sein könnte. In der hausärztlichen Patientenversorgung spielt das Thema der MCC bei entzündlichen Atemwegserkrankungen eine große Rolle. Zur Behandlung sind in Deutschland Arzneimittel für die Selbstmedikation zugelassen und aufgrund hoher Studienqualität auch in den jeweiligen Leitlinien empfohlen. Ein symptomatischer Ansatz zur Stabilisierung der Atemwegsbarriere wäre auch in der ambulanten Frühphase von COVID-19 denkbar.Schlüsselwörter: COVID-19, mukoziliäre Clearance, Husten, Mukus, Atemwegsbarriere, MCC-EnhancementEingereicht am 26.4.2021 - Revision akzeptiert am 27.5.2021

Self-medication practices of pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in northern Ghana: An analytical cross-sectional study.

In Ghana, despite the dangers that self-medication poses to maternal and fetal health, there has been limited examination of self-medication among pregnant women. This study examines the practice of self-medication among pregnant women in Wa Municipality, Ghana. An analytical cross-sectional survey of 367 pregnant women was conducted in three health facilities. The prevalence of self-medication practice was 74.1%. The majority (68.4%) of pregnant women obtained unprescribed medicines from chemical shops; others utilized leftover drugs from previous hospital visits (15.8%) or herbal medications (9.9%), while others took unprescribed drugs from relatives or friends (5.9%). Analgesics (76.1%), antibiotics (24.6%), and antimalarials (16.2%) were the most frequently self-medicated drugs. The most common illnesses or symptoms for which pregnant women self-medicated were headaches (34.2%), back pain (33.1%), waist pain (32.7%), lower abdominal pain (20.6%), and malaria (16.2%). After adjusting for potential confounders, easy access to medication without prescription (AOR= 8.4), illness perceived as minor (AOR=4.1), availability of health facilities (AOR=4.2), and frequent lack of medicines at health facilities (AOR=1.7) were significantly associated with self-medication. Enforcing legislation to prevent the stocking and sale of certain analgesics and antibiotics, increasing service points, and improving service quality at antenatal clinics, outpatient departments and pharmacies could reduce self-medication.

Factors affecting medication administration for the children among care givers in rural ares at Bani-suef

Background: Self-medication is the use of drugs to treat self-diagnosed disorders, symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of a prescribed drug for recurrent disease or symptoms. Self-medication is considered as an element of self-care, in which individual select and use medicine to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms, it is response to illness that can be controlled in its early stage. The aim wasto assess factors affecting self-medication administration among children caregivers in rural areas at Bani-Suef Governorate. Design: Descriptive research was used. Setting: The study was conducted at two villages and their manors selected randomly in Beni-Suef governorate that was Baha in Beni-Suef governorate and Elnwera in Ihansia city where lack of medical access. Tool; three questionnaires included: I: Personal and demographic data of the caregivers’; II: Most common self-medication questionnaire and III: Factors affecting self-medication questionnaire. Results: The most common self-medication is antipyretic drugs (90.7%) followed by antibiotics and anti-cough as a self-medication drug (70.1%, 69.9%) respectively, on the other hand antidiarrheal, antiemetic and sedative were the lest (15.2%, 11.7%, 2.1%) respectively. Regarding factors related to child disease, having sudden symptoms , and repeated every short time were representing the most prevailing domains, 87.7%, 72.5% respectively, also 63.7% and 62.1% had previous symptoms in previous diagnosed disease. Regarding economic factors, 97.6% of caregiver refered self- medication the increased price of physician examination followed by 55.7% due to not enough income respectively. Conclusion: The major factor affecting on self-medication administration related to child disease is sudden symptoms, also, most of caregivers aligned the increased cost of physician and low income to self medication use. Recommendation: Increase public awareness about the risks of using self-medications without prescription, Educating the public on the types of illnesses that can be self-diagnosed and self-treated and the types of drugs to be used for self-medication as safe and reducing the cost of treatment, ensuring more services such as providing universal medical coverage to all populations.

Prevalence, knowledge and perception of self-medication practice among undergraduate healthcare students

BackgroundGlobally, self-medication is a common practice, and an increasingly perceived necessity to relieve burdens on health services. However, inappropriate self-medication may result to reduced health outcomes, increased antimicrobial resistance and economic waste. Healthcare students are the future health professionals who will be consistently responsible for educating the public on rational use of medication. This study therefore aimed to assess the prevalence, knowledge and perception of self-medication practices among healthcare students.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out among 866 healthcare students in a Nigerian University, comprising medical, nursing and pharmacy students. Information was garnered from respondents using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics, while Chi-square and logistic regression tests were used for categorical variables at p < 0.05.ResultsMean age was 21 ± 2.8 years, and female respondents were 447 (51.6%). Prevalence of self-medication among respondents was 473 (54.6%). A total of 288 (55.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of self-medication practices, comprising 250 (52.2%) among those who have previously self-medicated and 229 (47.8%) among those who had not. Reasons for engaging in self-medication practices were mentioned to include treatment of minor ailments (357; 32.4%), while 248 (22.5%) believed they had the medical knowledge of what to use. Analgesic (353; 30.1%), antimalarial (352; 30.0%), and antibiotics (182; 15.5%) were the commonest classes of medication used for self-medication. Headache (363; 18.4%), malaria (334; 16.9%), and cough (184; 9.3%) were the most frequently treated conditions. More than half (281; 59.4%) of the respondents’ purchased their self-medicated drugs from the community pharmacy. Gender and respondents’ disciplines were found to be the independent predictors for good knowledge of self-medication practice.ConclusionPrevalence of self-medication among the studied healthcare students is moderately high, while approximately half demonstrates good knowledge and perception of self-medication practices. Stimulation for self-medication practice largely arise from the perception of treating minor ailments. This underscores a need for advocacy on responsible self-medication practice during the formal training of these future health professionals, in order to avert its imminent/widespread negative consequences.

Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Kendi Kendine İlaç Kullanımı

Objective: Self-medication is an important self-care practice that creates different fields for pharmaceutical companies and reduces the state's health costs and the time spent by the physician. This study aims to determine the prevalence of self-medication practice among university students in Turkey, along with the effective factors and self-medication practices.&#x0D; &#x0D; Methods: With the aim of conducting a descriptive cross-sectional study, this study was conducted with the participation of 494 undergraduate students selected through a stratified random weight-proportional sample. The students were asked to fill in a self-report questionnaire form including introductory characteristics and self-medication practices. Analyses were carried out using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression.&#x0D; &#x0D; Results: Of the participants, 64.4% (n=318) were female and 35.6% (n=176) were male. The mean age was 20.9 ± 2.0 (18-29) years. It was determined that 15.8% (n=78) of the participants were using a prescription medication continuously due to a chronic disease. The prevalence of self-medication at any time was determined to be 81.6% (n=403). The prevalence of self-medication was found to be 84.9% in females and 75.6% in males (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.3, p=0.005). As a source of self-medication, 75.4% of the students (n=304) stated that self-medication drugs were previously prescribed by a physician. Of the participants, 27.5% (n=111) bought the medication by their own preferences and experiences. The most common self-medication symptoms of the participants were headache (90.8%) and common cold (59.8%). Other causes included muscle/joint pain, dysmenorrhea, and dyspeptic complaints. Self-medication drug groups were in the form of analgesics in 95.9% (n=259) of females and in 93.2% (n=123) of males. This was followed by cold drugs (58.2%), myorelaxants (47.5%), drugs with vitamin or mineral ingredients (41.8%), respectively. The prevalence of antibiotic self-medication was found to be 9.5% in the self-medication group and 7.7% for all participants. The thought of mild disease (77.6%) ranked first among the reasons for preferring self-medication. The prevalence of patient information leaflet reading behavior was 82.2% in the self-medication group. Due to self-medication, 8.2% (n=33) of the students experienced a adverse-effect at any time. The students in the self-medication group believed that there would not be serious adverse-effects caused by the OTC drugs even if they caused adverse-effect (30.5%) or that they would not cause any adverse-effects at all (3.8%). &#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusion : Self-medication is a common behavior among university students, with higher rates in females. Students practice this largely by relying on their previous experiences. They mostly prefer medicines previously given by their physicians for similar conditions. Opportunities must be used to inform people on OTC drugs.

Self-Medication Practices and Associated Factors in the Prevention and/or Treatment of COVID-19 Virus: A Population-Based Survey in Nigeria.

Background: The anxiety caused by the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally has made many Nigerians resort to self-medication for purported protection against the disease, amid fear of contracting it from health workers and hospital environments. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the knowledge level, causes, prevalence, and determinants of self-medication practices for the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19 in Nigeria.Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between June and July 2020 among the Nigerian population, using a self-reported questionnaire. Statistical analysis of descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses was done using STATA 15.Results: A total of 461 respondents participated in the survey. Almost all the respondents had sufficient knowledge about self-medication (96.7%). The overall prevalence of self-medication for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 was 41%. The contributing factors were fear of stigmatization or discrimination (79.5%), fear of being quarantine (77.3%), and fear of infection or contact with a suspected person (76.3%). The proximal reasons for self-medication were emergency illness (49.1%), delays in receiving hospital services (28.1%), distance to the health facility (23%), and proximity of the pharmacy (21%). The most commonly used drugs for self-medication were vitamin C and multivitamin (51.8%) and antimalarials (24.9%). These drugs were bought mainly from pharmacies (73.9%). From the multivariable logistic regression model, males (OR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.07–0.54), and sufficient knowledge on SM (OR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.19–0.77) were significantly associated with self-medication.Conclusion: The key finding of this study was the use of different over-the-counter medications for the prevention (mainly vitamin C and multivitamins) and treatment (antibiotics/antimicrobial) of perceived COVID-19 infection by Nigerians with mainly tertiary education. This is despite their high knowledge and risk associated with self-medication. We suggest that medication outlets, media and community should be engaged to support the rational use of medication.

Prevalence, Attitude and Knowledge of Self Medication during Covid-19 Disease Pandemic

Aim: To determine the prevalence, attitude, and knowledge of self-medication of general population for the prevention of coronavirus during the COVID 19 pandemic. Place and duration of the study: Major studies of Punjab during 2020. Methodology: A self-generated questionnaire was distributed online amongst the general population of Punjab excluding the people using medication for any other chronic medical disorder. The study included the general public including the age group from 16-60 years. Results: Among 290 participants, 33.7% were males and 66.3% were female. Based on the data obtained 53% used medication without a doctor’s prescription (self- medication) while 46.7% took the medication with a doctor’s prescription. Those with the habit of self-medication relied on both allopathic and herbal medications due to various reasons, the most frequent reason found was unavailability of doctors (27.8%). The most frequently used self-medicated drugs were pain killers, Hydroxychloroquinone, Azithromycin and Ivermectin to prevent from this deadly virus (p-value=0.000).Adverse effects reported after self-medications are statistically non-significant. Conclusion It is concluded that majority of the general population of Punjab are in the habit of self-medicating themselves because of difficulty in approaching physicians and the most commonly self-medicated drug with or without symptoms was found to be tablet Azithromycin as a preventive measure during this pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, self-medication, adverse effects

PREVALENCE, PRACTICE, PERCEPTION OF SELF-MEDICATION PATTERN AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Objective: The use of drugs (prescription as well as non-prescription by the individual for treating self-diagnosed conditions/symptoms is a practice prevalent all around the world, though the extent, the reason may vary. The practice of self-medication is increasingly becoming a part of self-care. If practiced properly and with the authentic knowledge of drugs, it can save resources such as time and money. However, its improper use may lead to various health problems like adverse drug reactions, prolonged suffering, and drug-dependence and increase resistance among various pathogens. It has many implications, especially among medical students who have some knowledge and exposure to drugs and can present a serious threat to professionalism in medicine and it has the potential to put at risk public trust into this profession. The aim of this research was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among medical students.&#x0D; Methods: Research was performed as a cross-sectional study and it included 150, 2nd year (4th semester) students of a medical college. Students filled out a questionnaire created for the purpose of this research and consisted of both open-ended and close-ended questions about demographic and self-medication Consenting students anonymously filled the questionnaire. Questions about self-medication were related to the period of the previous three months.&#x0D; Results: Out of 150 filled questionnaires, data of 126 were analysed as twenty-four Questionnaires were incomplete. 90.47%% medical students were found to practice self-medication. Symptoms for which they took the drugs for self-medication were fever (49.68%) followed by headache, common cold/cough and pain abdomen. Drugs taken by them for self-medication were Paracetamol (85.79%), antibiotics (77.54%), analgesics, Antihistaminic and cough suppressants. Ease (43.65%) was cited as the main reason for self-medication by the respondents. Most common source of drug information was their experience in the past illness (54.03%) Of the respondents 90.48% knew about adverse drug reactions and 93.65% knew about drug-drug interactions.&#x0D; Conclusion: This study shows that the practice of self-medication is rampant among medical students of the institute. In this situation, awareness should be created toward appropriate antibiotic usage and the practice of responsible self-medication needs to be promoted among future healthcare providers. Furthermore, stringent implementation of laws governing the sale of prescription medicines can help in limiting the self-medication practice.