Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Self-Medication Among the Students of Private University

Abstract

Objectives: Self-medication is becoming very common in our routine life which is an unhealthy and risky practice in a few instances. The present study was carried out to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among students of Charotar University of Science and Technology (CHARUSAT).
 Methods: A pre-validated questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the students. Data was collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and the results expressed as counts and percentages.
 Results: A total of 431 students participated voluntarily in the study. The most common reason for taking self-medication was found in 70% of total students. We found that the source of information of the drugs used for self-medication was “previous prescription (57%)” and source of drugs was “medical store (66%).” Only (46%) students accepted the fact that they always visited a qualified practitioner whenever they felt ill. Most of the students took self-medication for headache (82%) followed by cough, cold, and sore throat (62%) and fever (57%). Of total 431 students, most of the students took analgesics (78%) as self-medication followed by lozenges (50%).
 Conclusion: Self-medication was common in nearly 70% of university students. They provided the reason that “no needs to visit the doctor for minor illness.” Cough and cold preparations were taken by 82% population as self-medication.

Self-Medication for Prevention and Treatment of Diseases During Covid-19 Pandemic-a Cross Sectional Survey in General Population

“…The study conducted by Ainsy Goldlin [28] concluded that main factors related to self-medication were COVID 19 spread and fatality, fear of going to hospitals, lack of trouble-free access to hospitals (39.6%), which was in accordance to our study. Another similarity of our study was with the study done by Chopra [29] and also by Jalpa [30] where self-medication was more common in women with 62% and 66%, respectively than in men.…”

Health Seeking Behavior Towards Minor Ailments Among University Students in Malaysia

“…These findings are similar to that of studies in Pakistan and Nepal which also reported headache (69 to 73%) and common cold/flu (56 to 66%) as the most common minor ailments encountered by university students [6,7]. In addition, studies from Egypt and Mekelle indicated that headache (50 to 60%) and common cold (44 to 70%) were the most frequent reason for self-medication among university students [8,14,15].…”

SELF-MEDICATION PRACTICES AMONG 1st- AND 2nd-YEAR MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATES

“…In this study, knowledge of medicines through similar previous illnesses and the feeling that there is no need to consult for minor ailments were the main reasons for self-medication among both first and 2 nd -year medical undergraduates. This is in line with Suthar et al, in which the participants who were university students stated that there is "no need to visit the doctor for minor illness" [17]. Jagadeesh et al stated that self-medication creates awareness among individuals toward maintaining their health and hence need to be promoted amongst medical students [2].…”