Responsible self-medication: perceived risks and benefits of over-the-counter analgesic use

Abstract

Objectives This study examines awareness of the potential risks associated with over‐the‐counter (OTC) use of paracetamol and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) among Australian consumers to better understand patterns of usage of these products. Methods We employed two self‐reported cross‐sectional surveys (conducted in 2001 and 2009) using computer‐aided telephone interviewing. Both survey samples were weighted to match national population proportions; data were collected for 3702 respondents (study 1, 2001, n = 1901; study 2, 2009, n = 1801). The inclusion criteria were age over 18 years and willingness to participate in the survey. Key findings Self‐reported regular use (once or more per month) of OTC analgesics declined between 2001 (67.5%) and 2009 (55.0%; P < 0.05). In 2009 42.0% of regular OTC analgesic users were purchasing NSAIDs outside the pharmacy setting (compared with none in 2001). Stated awareness of potential risks has increased slightly among regular paracetamol users (from 49.0% in 2001 to 52.0% in 2009) and regular NSAID users (from 25.0% in 2001 to 41.0% in 2009). Regular OTC analgesic users were considered to be using the product appropriately if there were no contraindications, warnings, precautions or potential drug interactions to the analgesic that they had used. In 2001, significantly more people were using paracetamol appropriately than were using NSAIDs appropriately (98.3 compared with 79.3%; P < 0.05). Corresponding figures for 2009 were 96.4 and 69.1% (P < 0.5). Conclusions Increasing consumer awareness of the need to consider potential risks prior to taking OTC analgesics is a positive sign. However, this has not translated to an increase in appropriate use of OTC NSAIDs; since ibuprofen has become available outside the pharmacy setting in Australia fewer people are using NSAIDs appropriately according to the label. The quality use of medicines, in particular OTC NSAIDs, is becoming increasingly reliant on product labelling and the ability of consumers to understand and self‐assess risk.

Knowledge and attitude of analgesics use among Saudi population: A cross-sectional study

“…Similar observations come from Poland study and papers of Matoulková et al and Reguła et al, where similarly around 16% of the subjects shared the same belief. [10,20,21] Our findings generally revealed no significant difference in use of analgesics between male and female as the previous study in Iran and that converse to other studies in Riyadh, Taif, turkey, Germany, and Norway. [1,14,15,17,22,23] Like our findings in Saudi, many studies have also shown there is a significant age difference in the prevalence of analgesic use among the population.…”

“…The strengths include the use of a large area of the general population; it is not limited to the specific cities or level of education like other studies. [10,22,23,30,31] On the other hand, the electronically distributed questionnaire gave a great opportunity to the young female to take part in the study. Furthermore, higher education was predominating among electronically recruited individuals.…”

“…[8][9][10][11][12] The questionnaire was prepared in the Arabic language because most of the Saudi people speak Arabic. The validity of questionnaire content was performed by two doctors in Al Noor hospital.…”

Aged Patients and Use of Nonprescription Drugs

“…Ibuprofen in a dosage of 200 mg is OTC drug, however our patients were taking larger doses (400 mg). Larger dose of ibuprofen increases unwanted effects and exposes patient to larger risk from intestineal bleeding, chronic kidney failure etc, and of course increases the possibility of interaction [4,6,[13][14]. Number of unwanted side effects increases with taking more type of drugs and with lenght of taking them [3,6,11].…”

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“…Self-medication encourages consumers to take an active role in their health. [2] In a number of developing countries, many drugs are dispensed over the counter without medical supervision. In this case, self-medication provides a lower cost alternative for people who cannot afford the cost of clinical service.…”