Data regarding the
prevalence and consequences of
self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic in
Africa are very limited. The study aimed to explore the frequency and
risk factors of
self-medication against COVID-19 by
health personnel in this study. This
cross-sectional study took place in June 2021, in Conakry, in the all three national
hospitals and the six
community medical centers, and five primary
health centers. A multivariate
logistic regression model was performed to identify factors associated with
self-medication. A total of 975
health workers with a median age of 31 (IQR 27-40) years, with 504 (51.7%)
women were included. The majority were clinicians
physicians (33.1%) or
nurses (33.1%). Of all, 46.2% reported having had at least one COVID-19 symptom during the 12 months preceding the
survey. The proportion of
self-medication was 15.3% among national
hospital staff, 12.20% in municipality medical centers and 22.6% in primary
health centers (p=0.06). More than two-thirds (68.7%)
who selfmedicated did not have a test for SARSCoV- 2
infection. They took
antibiotics including
azithromycin,
amoxicillin,
ampicillin (42.2%),
acetaminophen (37.4%),
vitamin C (27.9%),
hydroxychloroquine (23.8%) and
medicinal plants (13.6%). The median duration of
self-medication was 4 days.
Fatigue or
asthenia,
sore throat,
loss of smell and
sore throat of a close
person were independently associated with selfmedication.
Health care workers largely practiced
self-medication during the Covid
pandemic and without
diagnostic testing. The results suggest the need for
training and sensitization of medical
personnel to avoid the consequences of the molecules used, including hepatotoxicity and
antibiotic resistance