Self medication practices among residents of slum areas of qasimabad, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

Self medication is the practice of treating ailments with medicines which are available without prescription. There is a lot of public and professional concern about the irrational use of drugs. To assess self medication practices among residents of urban slum areas of Taluka Qasimabad, District Hyderabad and to determine the underlying factors for it. A community based descriptive cross sectional study. This study was carried out among residents of peri-urban areas of Taluka Qasimabad, District Hyderabad from 15[th] October 2012 to 15[th] December 2012. Study tools, sample size and sampling technique Data was collected through questionnaire based interviews from responders. Three hundred and eighty five responders were selected by convenience sampling. The prevalence of self medication was calculated in percentage. The qualitative and quantitative variables were analyzed in SPSS version 16 by applying various tests of significance. Total three hundred and eighty five respondents participated in the study; among them 207 were practicing self medication. 57% of the subjects were in age group 18-30 years [p=0.04]. There was male preponderance [90.3%] showing significant association with self medication practice [p=0.01]. Easy availability of medicines was the main reason for self practice [62.8%]; various analgesics were the most commonly used drugs [58.5%]. Self medication is the common practice among peri-urban residents; availability of low cost drugs is one of the most important determinants for this practice