Study on Self-Medication Practices among Undergraduate Medical Students in Katihar, Bihar

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Self-Medication is quite a prevalent publichealth problem and widely practiced in every part of theworld, especially in developing countries like India. SelfMedication can be defined as the use of drugs to treat selfdiagnosed disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent orcontinued use of a prescribed drug for chronic or recurrentdisease or symptom, Medical students are in a unique positionfor wide practice of self-medication. The current study aimedto estimate the prevalence and practices of self-medicationamong the undergraduate medical students of Katihar MedicalCollege, Katihar, Bihar, IndiaMaterial and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire basedstudy was conducted among first to final year undergraduatemedical students in the month of February and March 2019,after taking informed consent from participants. The studywas kept anonymous to get genuine response from students.Total 396 students were taken. Out of which 18 incompletequestionnaires were excluded and 378 questionnaires wereanalyzed.Results: Self-medication practice was highly prevalent amongthe undergraduate medical students, with 71.70% reportingthat they indulge in it. Self-medication was more prevalentamong female students than male. Fever and headache (66%)were the most frequently reported illnesses for which Selfmedication was practiced by the students. Analgesics andAntipyretics (64%) were the most common drugs used bystudents for Self-medication. The most common reasonadduced for Self-medication practice (68%) was their beliefthat they have sufficient information and knowledge, and theyknow what to take for which aliment. Internet and Mobileapps (67%) were the major source of information for Selfmedication reported by students.Conclusion: Self-Medication is prevalent among theundergraduate medical students of Katihar Medical College,Katihar, Bihar, India, The findings highlight the need forintervention programmes regarding the practice of selfmedication and educate them regarding advantage anddisadvantages of Self-medication.