ABSTRACT
Background: Self-medication is widely practised in many developing countries. The determinants of self-medication need to be understood to design adequate medicine information policies and patient-dispenser education strategies. Hence, the prevalence of medicine use and predictors of self-medication were determined in Sri Lanka. Methods: In a community-based cross- sectional study, data were collected from 1800 adults selected from Gampaha and Polonnaruwa districts respectively. Study participants were sampled using a multistage cluster sampling technique. Trained public health midwives administered the questionnaire. Two Likert scales provided information on access to medical care and satisfaction with available pharmacy services. About 95% of the sampled population participated in the study. Results: Overall, prevalence of medication use (allopathic, traditional, home remedies) in urban and rural population was 33.9% and 35.3%, respectively. Self-medication prevalence of allopathic drugs in the urban sector (12.2%) was significantly higher than in the rural (7.9%) sector(p<0.05). In the urban sector, small household size and preference to have medicines from outside the pharmacies predisposed to self-medication. The higher acceptability of medical services and regularity of medical care decreased the likelihood of self-medication. In the rural sector, lower satisfaction about the healthcare providers’ concern for clients, lower satisfaction about affordability of medical care and higher satisfaction with technical competence of the pharmacy staff increased the likelihood of self-medication. In both urban and rural sectors, when symptom count increased, tendency to self-medicate decreased. Conclusions: Self-medication prevalence was higher in urban compared to rural areas in Sri Lanka. Some aspects of access to medical care, satisfaction with pharmacy services and perceived severity of the disease were found to be important determinants of self-medication.
ABSTRACT
The objective of the present study is to evaluate the different mode of decontamination of saliva on dentin bond strength. Buccal/lingual surfaces of 48 extracted human molars were wet ground to create flat dentin surface, to serve as bonding area for single bond and the hybrid composite resin. The experimental teeth were then categorized into six groups of 8 teeth each and treated in the following manner. Group 1 control (without contamination), Group 2 etched surface is contaminated with saliva and saliva is decontaminated by air drying. Group 3 etched surface is contaminated and saliva was decontaminated by rinsing and blot drying.group4 uncured adhesive surface contaminated, saliva is decontaminated by rinsing and blot drying. Group 5 cured adhesive surface is contaminated, decontamination of saliva was done by rinsing and air drying. Group 6 treated similar to Group 5 with additional adhesive application after air drying. All teeth were mounted in iron mould and subjected to universal testing machine for shear bond strength. Lowest mean bond strength was found in Group2 which was significantly lower than all other Groups (p<0.01). Group5 and Group6 were significantly lower than Group1, 3 and 4. Based on this study it was found that one bottle adhesive systems are less sensitive to salivary contamination in contrast to previous generation adhesives.