Self-Medication in University Students from the City of Mansoura, Egypt

Background. Self-medication is a common practice in developed and developing countries. Objectives. To explore the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students, probable reasons, symptoms requiring self-medication, and sources of advice. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental and public health 2017-01, Vol.2017 (2017), p.1-7
Main Authors: Helal, R. M., Abou-ElWafa, Hala Samir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
College students
Cross-Sectional Studies
Developing countries
Drugs
Drugstores
Egypt
Female
Health education
Humans
Male
Medical students
Medicine
Multivariate analysis
Pharmacy
Prevalence
Public health
Public health education
Questionnaires
Self Medication - classification
Self Medication - psychology
Self Medication - statistics & numerical data
Self-medication
Socioeconomic Factors
Students - psychology
Students - statistics & numerical data
Students, Medical - psychology
Students, Medical - statistics & numerical data
Studies
Substance abuse treatment
Universities
Universities and colleges
University students
Urban areas
Young Adult
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Summary:Background. Self-medication is a common practice in developed and developing countries. Objectives. To explore the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students, probable reasons, symptoms requiring self-medication, and sources of advice. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Mansoura University, Egypt, and included 1st and last year students of both medical and nonmedical faculties. Results. Prevalence of self-medication was 62.9%. Younger age, female, medical, and ever-married students and those having home pharmacy tended to self-medicate more than their peers with significant difference between them. Being medical student, being from urban area, having good current health condition, being careless about health, and having drugs stored at home pharmacy were independently associated with the likelihood of self-medicating. Conclusion. Prevalence of self-medication among university students is high which constitutes a health problem that needs intervention.
ISSN:1687-9805
1687-9813
DOI:10.1155/2017/9145193