Self-Medication Practices Among Undergraduate Medical Students at Tertiary Health Care Institute in Nagpur District of Maharashtra A Cross-sectional Study Section Original Research Paper

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the fact that self-medication forms an essential element of self-care, the key issues like enhanced resistance of microorganisms, wastage of resources, and adverse drug reactions are linked with it. The published literature states a high prevalence of self-medication ranging from 12 % to 99% among medical students and medical practitioners. The current study was undertaken to gauge the perceptions of undergraduate medical students about self-medication. Material and Methods: A Cross Sectional study was carried out on 266 UG medical students from first to final year at one of the government’s medical colleges in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. A structured, pre-tested, validated questionnaire, focusing on various aspects of self-medication, was administered to participants and the responses were gathered. The data were entered into Microsoft Office Excel and analyzed using Graph Pad Prism Version 6. Results: A total of 139(52.25%) males and 127(47.74%) female students from first to final year participated in the study. The prevalence of self-medication among study participants was 221 (83.08%). The most common perceived reasons for SM were ‘past experience of taking drugs for similar health problems’ and ‘for immediate relief from the clinical symptoms.’The commonest health problems reported by participants for self-medication were fever (86.87%), common cold (79.18%), headache (77.37%) and cough (72.85%). Conclusions: The study noted a high prevalence of self-medication among UG medical students. Although the students reported positive perceptions towards few aspects of SM, the study states the need for sensitization about self-medication among the students about its benefits and harmful aspects.