The scenario of self-medication practices during the covid-19 pandemic; a systematic review

Shrestha, Abhigan Babu; Aryal, Manjil; Magar, Junu Rana; Shrestha, Sajina; Hossainy, Labiba; Rimti, Fahmida Hoque

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104482

Cited by 31 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…12,13 Despite the heterogeneity in findings, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis found that the prevalence of selfmedication was 44.8% amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 14 Another review indicated that the prevalence of self-medication during the pandemic ranged between 33.9% and 51.3%. 3 Specifically, antipyretics, antihistamines, cough suppressants, and vitamins were used by individuals without medical supervision to manage a broad range of symptoms, including fever, fatigue, nasal congestion, and cough.…”

Section: Drivers Of Otc Medicine Misuse During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Abuse and Misuse of Over-the-Counter Medicines During COVID-19

Meslamani

Abdel‐Qader

2023

Hosp Pharm

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The abuse and misuse of OTC medicines is a common problem in community pharmacies and is expected to escalate during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is limited research on the patterns, causes, and consequences of these incidents during the pandemic. This article aims to provide evidence-based insights into the potential impact of COVID-19 on the abuse and misuse of OTC medicines, and suggest strategies for reducing these occurrences for pharmacy practitioners and healthcare managers.

show abstract

Section: Drivers Of Otc Medicine Misuse During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Abuse and Misuse of Over-the-Counter Medicines During COVID-19

Meslamani

Abdel‐Qader

2023

Hosp Pharm

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Residents purchase OTC drugs based on a variety of factors, such as drug price, efficacy, and safety, as well as advice from medical staff, family, friends, and so on (Shrestha et al, 2022;Tavares et al, 2022). Personality represents a series of personality characteristics, thinking patterns and habitual behaviors within an individual, and influences the individual's response to external stimuli and interaction with others in society (Getzmann et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The self-medication behaviors of residents and the factors related to the consideration of drug efficacy and safety—A cross-sectional study in China

Zhang²,

Zhang³

et al. 2023

Front. Pharmacol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs facilitates residents self-medication. However, inappropriate self-medications have become a serious problem in China and even all over the world.Objectives: To make an investigation on the current status of Chinese residents’ self-medication behaviors and important considerations, and to explore the factors related to the considerations of drug efficacy and safety.Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional study.Methods: Multi-stage sampling was used to conduct a cross-sectional investigation in China 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government. State that an interviewer-administrated questionnaire, was used for data collection. The questionnaire that was used in the investigation included demographic sociological characteristics, health literacy scale-short form (HLS-SF), the 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), the EuroQol-5D visual analogue scale (EQ-5D VAS), self-medication status and important considerations when self-medicating. Descriptive statistics were performed, and the Chi-square test was used for univariate analysis. Log-binomial regression was used for multivariate analysis on whether residents regard drug efficacy or safety as an important consideration.Results: 9256 respondents were included in the data analysis. The self-medication rate of Chinese adults was as high as 99.1%. Paracetamol and other analgesics were the most common types of OTC medication that respondents purchased, followed by vitamins/minerals. Medical staff recommendations, drug safety and efficacy were the top three important considerations. The residents in the east, central and western regions who consider safety is 63.5%, 61.5%, and 66.8% respectively. The proportion of curative effect was 60.2%, 55.7%, and 61.4% respectively. Log-binomial regression showed that western respondents, retired people, those who mainly used ways including basic medical insurance for employees, commercial medical insurance, free medical treatment to cover their medical cost, respondents with high neuroticism, high health literacy were more likely to consider drug safety as an important factor (p < 0.05). Eastern respondents, employed, main way of medical expenses borne was Out-of-pocket Payment, those with chronic disease were more likely to consider drug efficacy as an important factor (p < 0.05). Female, respondents with high levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and self-rated health status were more likely to regard both drug safety and efficacy as important considerations (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Self-medication is practiced by most Chinese adults. Whether Chinese adults take drug efficacy or safety as an important consideration is related to their demographic and sociological characteristics, Big Five personality characteristics, health literacy and self-assessed health status. There is a need to strengthen the management of OTC drugs and public education about self-medication.

show abstract

“… 16 This has been particularly elucidated during times of crises such as that during the most recent coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). 17 However, the unsupervised reliance on the practice of SM carries detrimental consequences, including missed/delayed diagnosis, development of drug resistance, addiction and dependence, and drug overdose and death, warranting immediate interventions to tone down these long-term effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Piloting of Determinants of Self-Medication Among University Students in the MENA Region; UAE and Jordan as an Example

Al-Zoubi¹,

Nasor²,

Suliman³

et al. 2023

PPA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Unsupervised self-medication (SM) is a global public health concern. University students are particularly vulnerable due to misperceptions of improved academic performance and thus are at risk of dependence, addiction, and drug overdose. Past studies have shown an alarming prevalence of SM among university students in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. However, there is a scarcity of reports from the region dissecting determinants of SM. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and epidemiological correlates of SM among university students and its perceived impact on their academic performance. Methods Two countries in the MENA region were surveyed in a cross-sectional design; UAE and Jordan. Through a stratified sampling technique, undergraduate students in both healthcare and non-healthcare majors of study were recruited to participate. A structured, self-administered questionnaire developed for the purpose of this study was distributed to consented participants via the university’s official email. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. A p -value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 362 students participated in the study (74% were females, 60% were from the UAE, and 59% were in healthcare majors). Significantly higher prevalence rates and adjusted odds of SM were found among females, students from Jordan, and those in healthcare majors, particularly for paracetamol (90.2% of females [ p =0.001], 88.3% from Jordan [ p =0.03], 92.5% in healthcare majors [ p =0.001]) and antibacterial drugs (48.9% of females [ p =0.01], 60.7% from Jordan [ p =0.001], 53.3% in healthcare majors [ p =0.001]). Majoring in healthcare fields was the most consistent determinant of such practice, while social influences of family and friends represented the chief source of recommendation. Only 21% of respondents assumed SM boosts their academic performance. Conclusion Our pilot study underlines the predominant determinants of SM among university students in the MENA region, namely female gender, students from Jordan, and those in healthcare majors. Informed data-driven awareness campaigns to mitigate such practice should be designed to focus on these susceptible populations.

show abstract

The scenario of self-medication practices during the covid-19 pandemic; a systematic review

Cited by 31 publications

References 57 publications

The Abuse and Misuse of Over-the-Counter Medicines During COVID-19

The Abuse and Misuse of Over-the-Counter Medicines During COVID-19

The self-medication behaviors of residents and the factors related to the consideration of drug efficacy and safety—A cross-sectional study in China

A Comparative Piloting of Determinants of Self-Medication Among University Students in the MENA Region; UAE and Jordan as an Example

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About