Original Research Article
Year: 2014 | Month: February | Volume: 4 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 7-11
Practice of Self-Medication among Undergraduate Students of Ahmedabad
Sujal Parikh1, Manish Patel1, Anjali Singh2, Geeta Kedia3
1Tutor, 2Assistant Professor,3Professor & Head,
Community Medicine Department, B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Corresponding Author: Sujal Parikh
ABSTRACT
Introduction: A desire to take medicine is perhaps the great feature which distinguishes man from animals. This desire however may play havoc when a person starts taking medicines on his own, forgetting that all drugs are toxic and their justifiable use in therapy is based on a calculable risk.
Objectives: Cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and pattern of Self-medication among the undergraduate students of Ahmedabad.
Materials and Methods: Study was conducted among 1000 students of 5 Colleges (Medical, Engineering, Pharmacy, Commerce and Arts) of Ahmedabad. 200 students from each college were included. All the students were selected by Simple Random Sampling Method. All students were given predesigned and pretested questionnaire.
Results: The prevalence of Self-medication was found out to be 54.69%. Practice of Self-medication was higher in Medical students compared to other students. The main reason for Self-medication was minor health problem. Most common Health Problem for Self-medication was Headache.
Conclusion: Prevalence of Self-medication was higher in Medical students. Also it was higher in final year students compared to other years students. Prevalence of Self-medication has increased in the last decade may be due to increased advertisement for the medicine and high cost of health care services.
Key words: Self-medication, Ahmedabad, Undergraduate Students