Self medication practice among undergraduates of Rupandehi district

Abstract

Background: Self-Medication is prevailing worldwide existing as a global concern especially among university students which may be due to easy access to medicine, mild illness and lack of time. Though the practice is easy, it may lead to adverse drug reactions, delaying in diagnosis and development of resistance to medicines. The study aims to assess the prevalence, enabling factors, and associations between self-medication and sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics among undergraduates of Rupandehi district, Nepal

Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 364 undergraduates of Rupandehi district (182 medical and 182 non-medical). A structured, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and data analysed using SPSS software. Convenience sampling technique was applied to choose medical colleges whereas neighbourhood control method was used to choose non-medical colleges where the colleges are chosen based on one nearest college of medical college.

Result: The prevalence of self-medication practice within six months was 81%. The common symptoms for which self-medication was done include headaches (74.3%), common cold (70.6%), and fever (41.2%). Painkillers (84.5%) and antibiotics (39.4%) were most used. Pharmacies were the main source (87.5%) of getting medicines. Similarly, Parental education (father’s and mother’s education) and mother’s occupation were significantly associated with self-medication (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Self-medication is widely prevalent among students where medical students try to put their knowledge into practice and non-medical students also practice in the similar rate accessing information from internet, social media, advertisement and experience for which strict rules and regulations are required.