scholarly journals Evaluation of the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among First-Year Medical Students

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry James ◽  
Shailendra S. Handu ◽  
Khalid A.J. Al Khaja ◽  
Sameer Otoom ◽  
Reginald P. Sequeira
Author(s):  
Julius Broto Dewanto ◽  
Haryono Tansah ◽  
Sari Puspa Dewi ◽  
Helena Napitu ◽  
Ramdan Panigoro ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND<br />Thalassemia is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder, in which the patient requires life-long blood transfusion. As Indonesia harbors 6 to 10% thalassemia carriers, thalassemia prevention measures such as early screening and education in the community are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice about thalassemia among young medical students. <br /><br />METHODS<br />A cross-sectional analytic observational study was conducted on 179 subjects in 2015, using a questionnaire with items on knowledge, attitude and practice about thalassemia for data collection. After signing informed consent, the questionnaire was filled in by the students and a blood test was performed when the students agreed to be examined. Detection of probable thalassemia carrier status was done by determination of hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. <br /><br />RESULTS<br />The knowledge about thalassemia of the first year medical students (n=179) was good (21.1%), moderate (70.9%) and poor (21.1%). Only 67 (38.3%) of the students agreed to a blood examination for determination of their carrier status after filling-in the questionnaire. The knowledge of thalassemia among first year medical students was statistically related to the timing when they would agree to have their thalassemia carrier status examined (p=0.021, one way ANOVA test). <br /><br />CONCLUSION<br />A higher thalassemia knowledge score causes medical students to be willing to undergo thalassemia carrier status examination at an earlier point in timing. A well-organized educational program focusing on thalassemia and early screening in young adults may enhance the thalassemia prevention program.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Hashemzaei ◽  
Mahdi Afshari ◽  
Zahra Koohkan ◽  
Ali Bazi ◽  
Ramin Rezaee ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Self-medication is defined as using medicinal products to treat the disorders or symptoms diagnosed by oneself. Although informed self-medication is one of the ways to reduce health care costs, inappropriate self-treatment can pose various risks including drug side effects, recurrence of symptoms, drug resistance, etc. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pharmacy and medical students toward self-medication. Methods This study was conducted in Zabol University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Overall, 170 pharmacy and medical students were included. A three-part researcher-made questionnaire was designed to address the students’ knowledge, attitude, and practice. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS 25 software. Results According to the results, 97 (57.1%) students had carried out self-medication within the past 6 months. Overall, the students self-medicated on average 4.2 ± 2.9 times per year. Self-medication was more common in male students (65.4%, P = 0.043). Cold was the most common ailment treated with self-medication (93.2%), and antibiotics (74.4%) were the most commonly used drugs. The primary information sources used by the students were their previous prescriptions (47.4%). Pharmacy students had a higher level of drug information (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant association between the level of drug information and the tendency for self-medication (P = 0.005). Disease recurrence was the most common negative complication of self-medication. Conclusion There is a need to educate pharmacy and medical students regarding self-medication and its side effects. The high prevalence of self-medication and the overuse of antibiotics can pose a significant risk of drug resistance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Ashish Kumar Bhattarai ◽  
Prabin Kumar Karki

Background: Medical education is one of the toughest education systems where the stu­dents are under intense physical and mental pressure especially during the exam time. They have information of different drugs that can cope with their medical conditions and also aware of different cognitive enhancers. Self-medication results in wastage of resource, ad­verse effects, drug dependence and increase chances of resistance of pathogens. Hence, this study was undertaken to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of irrational drug use among the medical students during the exam time. Methods: This was descriptive cross-sectional using semi-structured questionnaire in the one of the medical school located inside Kathmandu Valley. A total of 90 students participated in the study. The data was analyzed with SPSS version 20, by using descriptive statistics. Results: Among the total respondents,20 (17.7%) were practicing self-medication during the exam time. Of the participants who practiced the self-medication, most common drug used was NDAIDs. Most of the respondents 87(96.7%) were aware of the possible adverse consequences. About 75(83.3%) participants thought the self-medication practice during the exam time is acceptable while 15(16.7%) regarded this as unacceptable. Conclusions: Although low incidence of self-medication was found among students during exam time, the false prerogative of being medical students can lead to meager practice and awful con­sequences.


2020 ◽  
pp. 48-50
Author(s):  
Dipsikha Das ◽  
Kalpana Gohain

Introduction: Self medication is referred to the use of medications to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms without a valid prescription. Self medication practice is seen widely due to availability of over the counter drugs and lack of awareness of adverse drug reactions. Aims and Objectives: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice of self medication for diarrhoea among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care hospital of Assam. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire based study was carried out among the Undergraduate medical students of Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh. The questionnaire was designed to assess the Knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication for diarrhoea. A total of 130 students were included in the study after obtaining written informed consent from them. The data of the completely filled up questionnaire was analyzed and presented as mean and percentage. Results: Out of 130 students 89.23% practised self-medication for diarrhoea. The most common cause of self medication practice was to save time and source of information was from medical textbooks. The most common source of medicines was medical stores and commonly used drugs for diarrhoea were ORS, Metronidazole, Ofloxacin, probiotics and anti-motility drugs. Only 17.25% of students had awareness of the harmful effects of self medication for diarrhoea. Conclusion: There is high prevalence of self-medication practice to treat diarrhoea among undergraduate medical students which necessitates proper education and awareness regarding the benefits and hazards associated with self medication practice.


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