RESUMO
Introduction: Self-medication is a part of self-care and is a primary source of public health in a health care system. In Pakistan it is a common practice as a majority of population is underprivileged, economically unstable and medicines are freely available as and when desired. Self-medication is intended for quick relief in common illnesses with a resultant benefit of economy, convenience and saving on time. However, self-medication should not be taken lightly as it involves serious health risks
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from June-August 2014 based on convenience sampling of 200 undergraduate medical and non-medical students from Rehman Medical College and University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, respectively. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data which were analyzed using SPSS v. 22. Comparisons were done using Chi Square test, keeping p= 0.05
Results: 185 students participated [age 22.5 +/- 2.6 years; Male: Female ratio 2.36:1] in the study. The practice of self-medication among students was 93% [n=172] of which 92 were medical students and 80 were non-medical students. "Previous experience with similar symptoms" [50.8%] and "convenience" [27.6%] were common factors for self-medication. The commonest indications for self-medication were "cough/sore throat" [61.1%], "runny nose/nasal congestion" [56.8%] and "fever" [56.29%]. Analgesics [71.4%], antibiotics [62.2%] and anti-allergic [48.1%] drugs were the most common types of self-medication used. Selection of medicine was based on "friends and family's opinion" [40%] and "previous experience" [34.1%]. Participants showed positive attitude towards self-medication; however 32.4% considered it as not an acceptable practice. There was no significant difference between self-medication practice between medical and non-medical students [p=0.34]
Conclusion: Only justifiable rationale for self-medication would be 'urgency of the problem' but amongst our participants this was not the most popular reason. Students of health profession are under the influence of self-medication at the same rate as that of non-health profession. To prevent the growing trend of self-medication, strong policies should be applied prohibiting the supply of medicines and promoting education regarding the implications of self-medication