Assessment of self-medication practices and associated factors by clinical pharmacists in rural population of Northeast India
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Abstract
Background and Objectives: Self-medication is a major concern for health authorities worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-medication with allopathic and other medicines and its associated factors in the rural community.
Materials and Methods: A cross sectional prospective community based unicentric study was designed and conducted for a period of 10 months from July 2022 to May 2023 in a newly established Drug Information & Patient Counseling Centre and its Mobile Pharmaceutical Care Unit at Jollang village of Arunachal Pradesh, India.The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) V26 was used to perform the statistical analysis. The data was acquired; compiled and categorized. Continuous data were expressed as mean standard deviation, while descriptive analysis was expressed as percentage.
Results: Of the total 312 participants, 237 were found to have practiced SM in the last three months. Analysis of the data revealed that the prevalence of SM in the region was 67.13%. It was observed to be higher in men (58.23%) than in women (41.77). In addition, people with a college degrees (52.32%) and middle-class incomes (55.27%) were found to practiceSelf‑ medication in higher number.The most frequently used drugs for self-medication in the area were analgesics and antipyretics (24.05%), followed by acid suppressants, or PPIs (17.29 %). Major complaints for opting self-medication were headache (18.14%) and fever (16.14%).
Conclusion: In this study, the prevalence of self-medication was determined to be 67.13 percent. Furthermore, it was noticed that a higher education did not prevent people from developing the habit of self-medication; rather, it played a significant role in it. Hence, to encourage the public to understand the serious consequences of self-medication, the Drug Control Agency and healthcare policymakers need to invest some resources in this effort by engaging clinical pharmacists.