Self-medication amongst university students of Karachi: prevalence, knowledge and attitudes.
J Pak Med Assoc
; 58(4): 214-7, 2008 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-18655436
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the prevalence, attitude and knowledge of self-medication amongst university students of Karachi, Pakistan.METHODS:
This cross-sectional, study was conducted from Jan-Feb 2007. A convenience sample was taken from 2 medical and 2 non-medical universities of the city of Karachi, Pakistan. Data was analyzed using SPSS v 14 and associations were tested using the Chi square test.RESULTS:
Of the 572 participants (mean age=21 +/- 1.8 years, Male Female ratio=11.5), 295 were medical and 277 were non-medical students. The prevalence of self-medication was 76%. Forty three percent students stated that they alter the regimen of prescribed medicines while 61.9% stated that they stop taking a prescribed medicine without consulting a doctor. The most common reason for self-medication was previous experience (50.1%) and the most common symptoms were headache (72.4%), flu (65.5%), and fever (55.2%). Commonly used medicines were analgesics (88.3%), antipyretics (65.1%) and antibiotics (35.2%). Eighty seven percent of students thought self-medication could be harmful and 82.5% students thought that it was necessary to consult a doctor before taking a new medicine. There was no significant difference between the self medication practices of medical and non medical students (p=0.8)CONCLUSION:
Prevalence of self-medication is high in the educated youth, despite majority being aware of its harmful effects. There is a need to educate the youth to ensure safe practices. Strict policies need to be implemented on the advertising and selling of medications to prevent this problem from escalating.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Automedicação
/
Estudantes
/
Universidades
/
Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Pak Med Assoc
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
PAKISTAN
/
PAQUISTÃO
/
PK