Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study
Self-medication is the most common practice worldwide and it may lead to irrational use of drugs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and its associated factors among health science students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 health science stu...
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Series: | Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580211005188 |
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doaj-4f9f3ebbd2cf44db8eeede2000ef32412021-03-24T22:03:32ZengSAGE PublishingInquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing0046-95801945-72432021-03-015810.1177/00469580211005188Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional StudyZemene Demelash Kifle MSc0Abebe Basazn Mekuria MSc1Demssie Ayalew Anteneh MSc2Engidaw Fentahun Enyew MSc3University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaUniversity of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaUniversity of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaUniversity of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaSelf-medication is the most common practice worldwide and it may lead to irrational use of drugs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and its associated factors among health science students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 health science students in Gondar town. The data regarding self-medication practice and its associated factors were collected using a face-to-face interview on a structured questionnaire. SPSS −24 was used for data analysis and explained with univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the factors associated with self-medication practice (sex, age, religion, marital status, residence, department, year of study, monthly income, access to pharmacy, and peer/family pressure). A total of 554 students responded to the questionnaire with a response rate of 92.3%. Out of 554 respondents, 78.2% were practiced self-medication. Headache/fever 37.88% (n = 164) was reported as the most common complaint to practice self-medication. Among the reasons for self-medication practice, similarity of symptoms with past illness 33.49% (n = 145) was the most frequently reported. In current study, Females (AOR = 3.11, 95% CI = 1.55, 6.25), Muslim followers (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.30, 5.91), Protestant followers (AOR = 4.25, 95% CI = 1.38, 13.07), pharmacy students (AOR = 3.72, 95% CI = 1.97, 9.30), clinical nursing students (AOR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.87, 14.48), monthly income (>500ETB) (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.12, 5.56), distance of health institution (<30 min) (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.39, 5.61), and accessibility of pharmacy (AOR = 4.85, 95% CI = 2.08, 11.29) were the independent predictors of self-medication practice. Self-medication is common in health science students in Gondar town. Health professionals should educate students on the risks and benefits of self-medication to encourage responsible self-medication. National guidelines on medicine access should be developed and strong measures should be implemented to halt the selling of medications without a proper prescription.https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580211005188 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Zemene Demelash Kifle MSc Abebe Basazn Mekuria MSc Demssie Ayalew Anteneh MSc Engidaw Fentahun Enyew MSc |
spellingShingle |
Zemene Demelash Kifle MSc Abebe Basazn Mekuria MSc Demssie Ayalew Anteneh MSc Engidaw Fentahun Enyew MSc Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing |
author_facet |
Zemene Demelash Kifle MSc Abebe Basazn Mekuria MSc Demssie Ayalew Anteneh MSc Engidaw Fentahun Enyew MSc |
author_sort |
Zemene Demelash Kifle MSc |
title |
Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study |
title_short |
Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study |
title_full |
Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study |
title_fullStr |
Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Self-medication Practice and Associated Factors among Private Health Sciences Students in Gondar Town, North West Ethiopia. A Cross-sectional Study |
title_sort |
self-medication practice and associated factors among private health sciences students in gondar town, north west ethiopia. a cross-sectional study |
publisher |
SAGE Publishing |
series |
Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing |
issn |
0046-9580 1945-7243 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
Self-medication is the most common practice worldwide and it may lead to irrational use of drugs. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and its associated factors among health science students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 health science students in Gondar town. The data regarding self-medication practice and its associated factors were collected using a face-to-face interview on a structured questionnaire. SPSS −24 was used for data analysis and explained with univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the factors associated with self-medication practice (sex, age, religion, marital status, residence, department, year of study, monthly income, access to pharmacy, and peer/family pressure). A total of 554 students responded to the questionnaire with a response rate of 92.3%. Out of 554 respondents, 78.2% were practiced self-medication. Headache/fever 37.88% (n = 164) was reported as the most common complaint to practice self-medication. Among the reasons for self-medication practice, similarity of symptoms with past illness 33.49% (n = 145) was the most frequently reported. In current study, Females (AOR = 3.11, 95% CI = 1.55, 6.25), Muslim followers (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.30, 5.91), Protestant followers (AOR = 4.25, 95% CI = 1.38, 13.07), pharmacy students (AOR = 3.72, 95% CI = 1.97, 9.30), clinical nursing students (AOR = 2.88, 95% CI = 1.87, 14.48), monthly income (>500ETB) (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.12, 5.56), distance of health institution (<30 min) (AOR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.39, 5.61), and accessibility of pharmacy (AOR = 4.85, 95% CI = 2.08, 11.29) were the independent predictors of self-medication practice. Self-medication is common in health science students in Gondar town. Health professionals should educate students on the risks and benefits of self-medication to encourage responsible self-medication. National guidelines on medicine access should be developed and strong measures should be implemented to halt the selling of medications without a proper prescription. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580211005188 |
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