Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-medication among Pharmacy Students in North Cyprus

Abstract

Aim: The aim of our study is to assess the attitude, knowledge and practice of self-medication among fifth year Pharmacy Students at Near East University in Northern Cyprus.
 Study Design: A cross sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in faculty of pharmacy in Near East University in Northern Cyprus on 28 of December 2018.
 Methodology: A 7- part self administered questionnaire was used among fifth year pharmacy students who were available during the study time.
 Results: A total of 77 questionnaires were distributed to be filled by respondents, all of them were filled completely and collected. 88% of the participants in our study were in the prevalent age group of 22-26 years and most of these students were from Turkey (58.3%). 25.7% of students visited a physician when they had a disease, however 25% of them didn’t comply with physician’s prescription. Headache (16.8%) and common cold (14.0%) were the most frequently reported illness for which self-medication was taken. Analgesic medicines (37.4%), followed by vitamins (29.7%) and antibiotic (13.5%), were used commonly as self-medication. Nearly all of students 95.9% knew the meaning of OTC and prescription only drugs. About 30.7% of students medicated themselves because it isn’t a serious disease. The main source of information about self-medication for students was the advice from pharmacist (29.7%). 26.8% of students agreed that pharmacists are good source of information for minor medical problems, 18.2% agreed that self-medication is acceptable for pharmacy students however 4.1% accepted that self-medication is not acceptable at all and it would be harmful.
 Conclusion: The practice of self-medication is prevalent amongst fifth year pharmacy students even with adequate knowledge and awareness about the consequences. Proactive pharmacist may contribute in management of minor illness and rationalized self-medication.

A Population based Study on Self Medication Practice in Pakistan

“…This study includes three geographical areas (3 states of Pakistan include Punjab, Sindh and Azad Kashmir). The prevalence of self -medication of OTC and other prescription drugs in our study was found to be 88% which is less than those studies conducted in Saudi Arabia 98.7% [4] Lahore 95% [5], Yemen 93% [6], Eritrea 93.7% [7] and higher then that Germany 27.7% [8], India Rajpur Punjab 80% [9], Turkey 19.1% [10], Cyprus 30.7% [11], Malaysia 80.9% [12], Cameroon 73.8% [13], Nepal 48.2% [14], Iraq 84.8% [15], Peshawar 64.8% [16], Vietnam 83.3% [17]. The commonly used OTC and other prescription drugs are Paracetamol 77.5%, Multivitamin 38.9% and Omeprazole 36.4%.…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Self-Medication Among the Students of Private University

“…Self-medication is a common and regular practice of using medicines, common over-the-counter (OTC) drugs without any medical supervision, by the people themselves for self-treatment, considering it a part of selfcare in both developed and developing countries [1,2]. Self-medication is reported to be higher in developing countries, mostly due to the fact that people generally consider it as first aid in treating minor ailments or acute symptoms such as vomiting, headache, nausea, fever, and cold [3].…”

Possible Etiological Factors of Self-Medication - A Practical Study on Different Groups

“…Our study revealed that easily accessibility of medicines (44.7%) from private pharmacies without prescription could explain the high percentage of purchasing from these pharmacies as a major source of the practice of SM (WHO, 2000). Also, keeping medicines at home (80%) is an important concern led to increase the possibility of SM and mistakes in proper consumption (Khamis et al, 2019).…”