Self‐medication in a Portuguese urban population: a prevalence study

Abstract

In the urban areas under study the overall prevalence of self-medication was 26.2%. Predictive factors for self-medication seem to be, a high level of education, professional status and length of waiting times for a medical consultation in cases of a severe health problem. Further research on this subject is needed to confirm the reproducibility of these results, since potential selection bias could have been introduced due to the method used for patient selection. Pharmacoepidemiologic research is feasible in Portuguese community pharmacies.

A Comparative Assessment of Self-Medication Between First And Second Year Medical Students of A Teaching Hospital In Dakshina Kannada, South India

“…These are important factors favouring self-medication and have been reported in other studies [2,10]. Length of waiting time and cost for medical consultation has been identified as one of the triggering factors for self-medication [11]. The most important disadvantages of self-medication are fear of adverse drug reactions and risk of using a wrong drug (fear of the unknown), results similar to those found in an earlier study.…”

“…Second year students practice self-medication more often. Previous Studies on self-medication have reported various prevalence figures, ranging from 26.2% [11] to as high as 92% [14]. The commonest illnesses that led to self-medication in this study were usually self-limiting "minor illnesses" that have been widely reported in studies on self-medication as the most common indications [2,10].…”

Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among college students

“…Higher levels of education and professional status have been associated with and considered as a predictive factor for self-medication. 13 There is no data on the prevalence and pattern of self-medication in College Students in Delhi (India). Data on the extent of self-medication and reasons for the same may throw light on behavioral patterns related to health seeking among youth.…”

Estudio sobre Automedicación en Población Universitaria Española

“…Entre ellos cabe citar la edad, el sexo, la orientación hacia el autocuidado y el conocimiento de la medicación 7,8,9 .…”