Self-Medication of Antibiotics Among Medical Students: A Cross Sectional Study

• Published in: J. Islamic Int. Med. Coll. Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 273 - 278
• Main Author: Ayesha Javaid , Iram Yasir , Saadia Zainab , Hamza Chaudry , Neha Amjad , Umar Farooq
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Riphah International University, Islamabad 01.01.2024
• Subjects: antibiotics; cross sectional study; frequency; medical students; prescription
• ISSN: 1815-4018; 2410-5422
• DOI: 10.57234/jiimc.december23.1589

Objective: To determine the frequency and perception regarding self-medication of antibiotics among medical students of Al-Nafees medical college, Isra university. Study Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: It was conducted in Al-Nafees Medical College from 1 April- 30 June 2019. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted among medical students of Al-Nafees Medical College. A total of 220 students were included in the study, via convenient sampling technique, 44 students from each year, with male to female ratio of 1:1. A structured questionnaire comprising of 12 multiple choice questions along with a demographic details section was used to collect the data. The data was entered and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: Out of 220 students (mean age 21 +/-4 years), 74% of students were self-medicating. 26.8% said prior experience of use was the reason for self-medication while 2.7% wanted to maintain privacy. About 39.50% of students used antibiotics to treat fever, whereas 5.90% for genitourinary infections. About 38.2% reported that the major source of information was acquired from other students, while 7.7% from friends or internet. Type of antibiotic was put under consideration by 40.5% of the students while self-medicating, 38.6% consulted doctor for selecting dosage. Dosage was changed during course of treatment by 16.8% , major reason (28.6%) behind it was improvement in health condition. Twenty-two percent stopped taking antibiotics before course completion on disappearance of symptoms while 29.5% labelled it as an unacceptable practice. Conclusion: The trend of antibiotics' self-medication is quite high among medical students which may result in an increase in antibiotic resistance.