Prevalence of self-medication in the adult population of Brazil: a systematic review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of self-medication in Brazil’s adult population.METHODS Systematic review of cross-sectional population-based studies. The following databases were used: Medline, Embase, Scopus, ISI, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, CRD, Lilacs, SciELO, the Banco de teses brasileiras (Brazilian theses database) (Capes) and files from the Portal Domínio Público (Brazilian Public Domain). In addition, the reference lists from relevant studies were examined to identify potentially eligible articles. There were no applied restrictions in terms of the publication date, language or publication status. Data related to publication, population, methods and prevalence of self-medication were extracted by three independent researchers. Methodological quality was assessed following eight criteria related to sampling, measurement and presentation of results. The prevalences were measured from participants who used at least one medication during the recall period of the studies.RESULTS The literature screening identified 2,778 records, from which 12 were included for analysis. Most studies were conducted in the Southeastern region of Brazil, after 2000 and with a 15-day recall period. Only five studies achieved high methodological quality, of which one study had a 7-day recall period, in which the prevalence of self-medication was 22.9% (95%CI 14.6;33.9). The prevalence of self-medication in three studies of high methodological quality with a 15-day recall period was 35.0% (95%CI 29.0;40.0, I2 = 83.9%) in the adult Brazilian population.CONCLUSIONS Despite differences in the methodologies of the included studies, the results of this systematic review indicate that a significant proportion of the adult Brazilian population self-medicates. It is suggested that future research projects that assess self-medication in Brazil standardize their methods.

Self-medication among patients with COPD: a cross-sectional analysis in the Brazilian Public Health System

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Construction and validation of an questionnaire for evaluating self‐medication practised by patients with temporomandibular disorders

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Evaluation of a community-based training to promote responsible self-medication in East Java, Indonesia†

“…It generally involves recognising or self‐diagnosing symptoms, selecting medicines, administering medicines and monitoring the outcomes . Studies worldwide suggested that self‐medication has been a common practice with most of the studies reporting prevalence values of between 20 and 60% . Based on a population survey in Indonesia, 61% of the population practised self‐medication in 2014; other health‐seeking behaviours included utilising health facilities (e.g.…”

“…[2] Studies worldwide suggested that self-medication has been a common practice with most of the studies reporting prevalence values of between 20 and 60%. [3][4][5][6][7][8] Based on a population survey in Indonesia, 61% of the population practised self-medication in 2014 [9] ; other health-seeking behaviours included utilising health facilities (e.g. community health centres, hospitals, or doctor clinics), using herbal/traditional treatments, or no treatment at all.…”