Study of self medication practices and its determinant among college students of Delhi University North Campus, New Delhi, India
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health - Year 2014, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
Background: Self - medication includes acquiring medicines without a prescription, resubmitting old prescriptions to purchase medicines, sharing medicines with relatives or members of one's social circle or using leftover medicines stored at home. In developing countries like India, self - medication is a common practice as it provides a low cost alternative for people. Especially, the youth is exposed to media and the increased advertising of pharmaceuticals poses a larger threat to the younger population. Aims & Objective: To determine the prevalence of self - medication among Delhi University students and to identify the sources and reasons for self - medication. Materials and Methods: A cross s ectional study was carried out using a ‘semi structured’ ‘pretested’ questionnaire among 350 students selected randomly from north campus of Delhi University during August and September 2012. Results: The prevalence of self - medication was 85.4% among the study population. Principal morbidities for seeking self - medication were headache (86.2%) and common cold (57.8%). 79.3% of them got the medicine from chemist shop and 16.9% used home availabl e medicines. 56.1% of the study subjects were aware about side effects of drugs they were using. Awareness about schedule H - drugs was also present in 39.5% of the study population. Regarding the major reasons for seeking self - medication, 31.0% did not find it necessary to consult a doctor followed by 25.0% who preferr ed to wait and watch, 21.3% had lack of time and 10.4% felt doctor’s fee was too high. Conclusion: Prevalence of self - medication was high in the study population despite majority being aware of its harmful effects. There is an urgent need to enforce the l aw to prevent over the counter drug sale and to educate the youth to ensure safe practices
Authors and Affiliations
Mrinmoy Adhikary, Poornima Tiwari, Saudan Singh, Chetan Karoo
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP117140
- DOI DOI: 10.5455/ijm sph. 2014. 2 6 012014 6
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