Self-Medication Practices and Risk Factors for Self-Medication among Medical Students in Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

IntroductionSelf-medication among future health care professionals can represent a serious threat to professionalism in medicine and it has potential to put at risk public trust into this profession. The aim of this research was to investigate prevalence and risk factors for self-medication among population of medical students, because it was previously shown that their attitudes towards pharmacotherapy could affect the way they could prescribe medication in the future.Material and MethodsResearch was performed as a cross-sectional study and it included 1296 (84.1%) 1st, 3rd and 6th year students of School of Medicine, University of Belgrade. Students filled out a demographic and self-medication questionnaire created for the purpose of this research and the Physical Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9). Questions about self-medication were related to the period of the previous year.ResultsSelf-medication was reported by 79.9% students. The most frequently self-prescribed medications were analgesics (55.4%). Independent risk factors for self-medication were possession of home-pharmacies (OR = 5.3, CI 95% 3.89–7.23), lower level of father's education (OR = 1.6, CI 95% 1.18–2.25), consumption of alcoholic beverages (OR = 1.5, CI 95% 1.13–2.08), less than 1 hour spent in physical activity per week (OR = 1.4, CI 95% 1.00–2.02), female gender (OR = 1.4, CI 95% 1.02–1.89), older age (OR = 1.1, CI 95% 1.07–1.21) and higher PHQ-9 score (OR = 1.09, CI 95% 1.05–1.12).ConclusionsSelf-medication is an important issue among population of medical students. Prevalence of self-medication could be controlled through regulatory authorities and further education.

Automedicação em estudantes de enfermagem do Estado do Amazonas – Brasil

“…In contrast, the prevalence in Coari is close to the rates found in developing countries like India (88.2%) and Serbia (79.9%) (5,7) . Although there are differences between these countries, especially in terms of culture and health practices, these scenarios may have similar characteristics regarding the lack of government control on the sales of medicines, the manner healthcare services are funded or reimbursed, and the need to practice self-care with medication.…”

“…Corroborating the findings of studies conducted in Serbia and India, the main reason the students decided to use medication without a prescription was the belief that they did not need a doctor's appointment to treat a simple ailment (4,7) . The self-confidence of healthcare students, success in previous experiences, and the belief that the knowledge acquired during their education enables them to select the correct medicine for the ailment, may have contributed to the practice of self-medication (2,4,6) .…”

“…The motives for self-medication include prior experience with the symptom or disease, the belief that one has knowledge of the disease, limited financial resources to appropriate treat a health problem, lack of time to seek medical assistance, and personal attitude regarding the disease. The common factors associated with self-medication are women, higher age group, physically active, alcohol consumption, and people with health insurance (4)(5)(6)(7) . Given the epidemiological magnitude and negative impact of this practice, self-medication among students in the area of healthcare is considered an important public health problem.…”

“…Studies show that prevalence rates range from 38.0% to 97.8%, depending on the students' country of origin, graduation course, or the reminiscent period of self-medication (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9) . In Brazil, although previous studies conducted in large urban centres found that self-medication among nurses is frequent (2,8,10) , the magnitude of the phenomenon is unknown in the North region.…”

An Exploration in Women’s Perception of the Use of Over-the-Counter Drugs: A Content Analysis

“…However, Mortazavi et al (2002) showed that there is no significant relationship between age and the level and period of OTC drug use (29). The other incompatible result was shown by Emmanuel et al (2014) indicating that the younger the individual, the greater the tendency toward self-medication (15) (36). Educated individuals seem to believe they have a proper knowledge on drugs, and thus have a greater tendency toward arbitrary drug use which is a false sense of confidence (3).…”