• P-ISSN 0973-7200 E-ISSN 2454-8405
  • Follow us

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Article

Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Year: 2024, Volume: 23, Issue: 3, Pages: 148-153

Original Article

Influence of Medical Education on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among Medical Students

Abstract

Self-medication (SM) is the use of over-the-counter medication to treat self-diagnosed symptoms or disorders, or the continuation and reuse of prescribed medications for recurrent diseases without consulting a physician. Self-medication is very common practice now a days. Medical students are exposed to knowledge about diseases and drugs, which makes SM easier for them. Primary aim of this survey is to study the influence of medical education on knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among medical students. Secondary aim is to evaluate the factors associated with self-medication. A cross sectional, questionnaire based analytical study was carried out in GCS medical college, Ahmedabad from November 2022 to May 2023. Data from 350 students were collected and analysed by using Microsoft Excel version 2019. Out of 350, 132 were from phase I, 80 were from phase II, 77 were from phase III and 61 were from phase IV. From phase I to phase IV, 75.7%, 85.8%, 82.3% and 87.4% students were having knowledge about SM respectively. 87.6% in phase I, 70% in phase II, 73.3% in phase III and 70.4% students in phase IV believed that the easy access to health care facility is the main reason for practicing the SM in medical students. The prevalence of SM was 23% in phase I, 71.25% in phase II, 76% in phase III and 83% in phase IV. The knowledge and practice of SM were more among phase I students compared to those in phase IV students.

Keywords: Knowledge, Medical students, Self-medication

References

  1. Eticha T, Mesfin K. Self-medication practices in Mekelle, Ethiopia. PLoS ONE. 2014;9(5):1–5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0097464
  2. Kasulkar AA, Gupta M. Self Medication Practices among Medical Students of a Private Institute. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2015;77(2):178–182. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4103%2F0250-474x.156569
  3. Kumari R, Kumar D, Kiran K, Bahl R, Gupta R. Study of Knowledge and Practices of Self-Medication among Medical Students at Jammu. Journal of Medical Sciences. 2012;15(2):141–144. Available from: https://doi.org/10.33883/jms.v15i2.252
  4. Rathod P, Sharma S, Ukey U, Sonpimpale B, Ughade S, Narlawar U, et al. Prevalence, Pattern, and Reasons for Self-Medication: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study From Central India. Cureus. 2023;15(1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.7759%2Fcureus.33917
  5. Shah H, Arora B. Knowledge, attitude and prevention of self-medication practices among the general population of Gujarat. Indian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2022;74(1):22–26. Available from: https://doi.org/10.25259/IJMS_354_2021
  6. Mehta RK, Sharma S. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among Medical Students. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS). 2015;4(1):89–96. Available from: https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jnhs/papers/vol4-issue1/Version-1/P04118996.pdf
  7. Singh RK, Thomas AM, Hariharan HC, Sreedharan DA, Padmanabhan G, Antony R. Prevalence and pattern of self-medication among medical students of a private medical college in Kerala. International Journal of Public Health Research. 2016;3(4):162–167. Available from: https://doi.org/10.17511/ijphr.2016.i4.05
  8. Klemenc-Ketis Z, Hladnik Z, Kersnik J. Self-Medication among Healthcare and Non-Healthcare Students at University of Ljubljana. Medical Principles and Practice. 2010;19(5):395–401. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1159/000316380
  9. Patel PM, Prajapati AK, Ganguly B, Gajjar B. Study on impact of pharmacology teaching on knowledge, attitude and practice on self-medication among medical students. International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health. 2013;2:181–186. Available from: https://www.bibliomed.org/gotodoi.php?mno=26985&gdoi=10.5455/ijmsph.2013.2.173-178
  10. Prabhakaran SS, Prabha MPS, Asha S, Palappallil DS. Self-Medication Practices among 1st- and 2nd-Year Medical Undergraduates. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research. 2023;16(4):161–166. Available from: https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2023.v16i4.47475
  11. James H, Handu SS, Khaja KAJA, Otoom S, Sequeira RP. Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among First Year Medical Students. Medical Principles and Practice. 2006;15(4):270–275. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1159/000092989
  12. Badiger S, Kundapur R, Jain A, Kumar A, Pattanshetty S, Thakolkaran N, et al. Self-Medication Patterns among Medical Students in South India. Australasian Medical Journal. 2012;5(4):217–220. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4066/amj.2012.1007
  13. Banerjee I, Bhadury T. Self-Medication Practice among Undergraduate Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Medical College, West Bengal. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine. 2012;58(2):127–131. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4103/0022-3859.97175
  14. Tewari S, Mukherjee A, Upadhyay GK. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among undergraduate medical students in an Institute of National Importance in North India. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 2023;13(12):2464–2469. Available from: https://www.ejmanager.com/mnstemps/28/28-1694765581.pdf?t=1726669584

Copyright

© 2024 Published by Krupanidhi College of Pharmacy. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

DON'T MISS OUT!

Subscribe now for latest articles and news.