Self-medication practice among children in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Tsifiregna, Rosa L.; Razafimahatratra, Safidinarindra H.; Raveloharimino, Nirina H.; Rakotomalala, Rivo; Ravelomanana, N.

doi:10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20163991

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The most commonly used drugs were antipyretics (46.6%), antimalarials (15%), antibiotics (10.2%) and antihelminthics (5.5%), these were related to common childhood infectious disease in our context. This is in line with results obtained in previous studies reported by Tsifiregna et al in Madagascar, Kaushalet al and Chakraborty et al in India [25,36,42]. The drugs according to legal classification accounted for one-third of all drugs administrated to children and pharmaceutical medications without medical advice for this did not conform to the WHO recommendations on responsible self-medication [43].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…SM is considered as an important aspect of primary health care and desirable in most countries though can be dangerous [36,37]. Although the prevalence of self-medication in our population (more than 70% in 1 st therapeutic recourse) was higher than that reported in other studies (from 38.5% in Germany to 56% in India), it remained the most widely used therapeutic itinerary by parents to treat their daughter's illness [25,38,39]. The four mean reasons reported by parent/guardians for the use of SM as first therapeutic itinerary in 1 st therapeutic recourse was that they considered the disease as mild in 63.4%, they reported knowledge of treatment in 11.7% and the financial problem in 6.9%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

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Characterization of pharmaceutical medication without a medical prescription in children before hospitalization in a resource-limited setting, Cameroon

Penda¹,

Moukoko²,

Youmba³

et al. 2018

Pan Afr Med J

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IntroductionThe use of different therapeutic approaches is common among sick children in Cameroon. The main objective of this study was to characterize the use of non-prescription drugs and describe the therapeutic itineraries of sick children before admission to the hospital.MethodsA cross-sectional and prospective study was conducted from January to May 2017. A closed-ended questionnaire (CEQ) consisting of one or several response options was administered to the parents/guardians of the children on admission to the hospital in the pediatric ward of the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala (LHD) and the Cité des Palmiers District Hospital (CPDH) of the city of Douala. Inclusion of participants was made consecutively for adolescents who gave their consent and parents or guardians who signed the informed consent for all children. The confidentiality of the data was ensured by the replacement of the names by codes.ResultsOverall, 295 hospitalized children were included with an average age of 3.1 (SD: 3.3) years in the study. More than half of these children (58.6%) came from LHD. More than 90% of parents had at least one therapeutic recourse (TR). The ratio of boys to girls 3/1. Self-medication (74.1%) and medical consultation (16.9%) were the main therapeutic paths in 1st recourse. The medical consultation (80.2%) and the pharmaceutical advice (16.9%) were used frequently in 2nd recourse. The mean lapse time to see a medical professional was 2.7 days (min-max: 0-14 days). The main symptoms associated with TR were fever (76.6%), vomiting (24.7%) and diarrhea (22.7%). The most frequently used drugs were Analgesics/antipyretics (47.6%), antimalarials (15.0%) and antibiotics (10.2%) and the family medicine box was the highest source of drugs.ConclusionSelf medication remains the first therapeutic path, followed by medical consultation as second therapeutic path taken when the disease is perceived as serious.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Characterization of pharmaceutical medication without a medical prescription in children before hospitalization in a resource-limited setting, Cameroon

Penda¹,

Moukoko²,

Youmba³

et al. 2018

Pan Afr Med J

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“…Both modern and traditional drugs were used. This is similar to 77% reported in Pakistan 7 and higher than the prevalence of 32% and 58.82% reported in Madagascar and India 8,11,16 . However, higher prevalence of 95.1% and 98.1% were reported in Greece and Australia 17,18 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Factors associated with the parental choice to self-medicate their children vary, but include: parents/caregivers perceiving their child's illness as being mild and not requiring health professional consultation, lack of time to attend consultations, high consultation fees, clinic waiting time, emergency treatment, use of old prescriptions available in the home, parent comfort in recognizing their children's disease based on the symptoms and having experience with the medication 14,15 . Pediatric self-medication is a worldwide practice with a reported prevalence between 32-98% in Madagascar, India, Greece, and Australia 8,[16][17][18] . Tanzania, a fellow nation of the East African community has reported pediatric self-medication rates of 69% 19 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pediatric self-medication use in Rwanda – a cross sectional study

et al. 2020

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Background: Self-medication, a worldwide practice, has both benefits and risks. Many countries have regulated non-pre- scription medications available for use in self-medication. However, in countries such as Rwanda, where prescriptions are not required to purchase medications, prescription, non-prescription and traditional medications have been used for self-medi- cation. Objectives: To determine the reported self-medication use in Rwanda and to determine attitudes and reasons associated with parental decisions to self-medicate their children. Methods: A cross-sectional multi-center questionnaire based quantitative study of 154 parents/caregivers of children under ten years undertaken in private and public health facilities. Results: The use of self-medication was reported to be 77.9%. Among these parents/caregivers, 50.8% used modern self-medication only, 15.8% used traditional self-medication only and 33.3% used both types of self-medication. Paraceta- mol was the most commonly used drug in modern self-medication; the traditional drugs used were Rwandan local herbs. Parents/caregivers who used modern medicines had slightly more confidence in self-medication than self-medication users of traditional medicines (p=0.005). Parents/caregivers who used modern self-medication reported barriers to consultation as a reason to self-medicate more frequently than those who used traditional drugs. Having more than one child below 10 years of-age was the only socio-demographic factor associated with having used self-medication (AOR=4.74, CI: 1.94- 11.58, p=0.001). Being above 30 years (AOR= 5.78, CI: 1.25-26.68, p=0.025) and living in Kigali (AOR=8.2, CI: 1.58-43.12, p=.0.012) were factors associated with preference of modern self- medication compared to traditional self-medication. Conclusion: Self-medication is common in Rwanda. Parents/caregivers are involved in this practice regardless of their socio-demographic background. Keywords: Self-medication; medicines; parents; caregivers; children; Nonprescription Drugs; Rwanda.

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“…Providers’ behaviours and attitudes play an important role on self‐medication because attitudes and behaviours of healthcare providers towards patients and their parents can act as a barrier which stops parents from seeking professional health care . Proper communication and a good relationship between healthcare staff and patients are essential for increasing parents’ trust in medical teams …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental self-treatment of their children in Jordan, a qualitative study

Mukattash

Jarab

Khawaldeh

et al. 2019

J Pharm Health Serv Res

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Objective To explore parents' attitudes and practices regarding self-medication of their children in Jordan.Methods An exploratory study with qualitative methods was employed. Participants were invited through clinics, pharmacies and hospitals. Twenty-six parents from different Jordanian cities took part in in-depth interviews. All interviews are audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analysed thematically to extract themes and subthemes that describes respondents' attitudes and practices regarding self-medication of their children. Key findings All participating parents self-medicated their children primarily for minor ailments (e.g. fever). Three overarching themes arose from the thematic analysis: factors influencing self-medication, choice of medication and misconceptions and misuse of medication. Parents reported that they prefer to self-medicate their children due to sociodemographic (e.g. education and geographic location) and economic reasons. Parents also reported that they do not necessarily seek medical care if they were familiar with their children illness and symptoms. Participating parents rely on past experience or medication package inserts to decide the drug of choice, dosage and duration of treatment. Furthermore, parents' responses suggest insufficient knowledge of medication effectiveness and safety. Conclusion The prevalence of self-medication in Jordan is alarmingly high. Also, misconceptions and misuse of drugs are considered a serious problem. Parent's familiarity with illnesses and medications determine the patterns of self-medication. This study highlights the need for subsequent comprehensive programmes and studies to improve rational drug use in Jordan.

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Self-medication practice among children in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Cited by 9 publications

References 4 publications

Characterization of pharmaceutical medication without a medical prescription in children before hospitalization in a resource-limited setting, Cameroon

Characterization of pharmaceutical medication without a medical prescription in children before hospitalization in a resource-limited setting, Cameroon

Pediatric self-medication use in Rwanda – a cross sectional study

Parental self-treatment of their children in Jordan, a qualitative study

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