James Henry, Handu Shailendra S, Al Khaja Khalid A J, Otoom Sameer, Sequeira Reginald P
Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Med Princ Pract. 2006;15(4):270-5. doi: 10.1159/000092989.
This study was undertaken to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among first-year medical students of the Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain.
This was an anonymous, questionnaire-based, descriptive study. A prevalidated questionnaire, containing open-ended and close-ended questions, was administered to the subjects. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 12 and the results expressed as counts and percentages.
Out of the 134 respondents, 43 (32.1%) were males and 91 (67.9%) were females; their mean age in years +/- SD was 18.01 +/- 0.78. The respondents' knowledge about appropriate self-medication was poor, but knowledge of the benefits and risks of self-medication was adequate. The respondents found self-medication to be time-saving, economical, convenient and providing quick relief in common illnesses. Important disadvantages of self-medication mentioned were the risk of making a wrong diagnosis, inappropriate drug use and adverse effects. The majority (76.9%) of the respondents had a positive attitude favoring self-medication. Self-medication was practiced by 44.8% of the subjects. The most common indications for self-medication were to relieve the symptoms of headache (70.9%), cough, cold and sore throat (53.7%), stomachache (32.8%) and fever (29.9%). Analgesics (81.3%) were the most common drugs used for self-medication. The practice of self-medication was appropriate in only 14.2% of cases.
Knowledge about appropriate self-medication was poor, attitude towards self-medication was positive, and the practice of self-medication was common and often inappropriate.
本研究旨在确定巴林阿拉伯海湾大学一年级医学生的自我药疗知识、态度和行为。
这是一项基于问卷调查的匿名描述性研究。向受试者发放一份经过预验证的问卷，其中包含开放式和封闭式问题。使用SPSS 12版软件对数据进行分析，结果以计数和百分比表示。
在134名受访者中，男性43名（32.1%），女性91名（67.9%）；他们的平均年龄（岁）±标准差为18.01±0.78。受访者对正确自我药疗的知识掌握较差，但对自我药疗的益处和风险有足够的了解。受访者认为自我药疗省时、经济、方便，且能在常见疾病中迅速缓解症状。提到的自我药疗的重要缺点包括误诊风险、用药不当和不良反应。大多数（76.9%）受访者对自我药疗持积极态度。44.8%的受试者有自我药疗行为。自我药疗最常见的适应证是缓解头痛症状（70.9%）、咳嗽、感冒和喉咙痛（53.7%）、胃痛（32.8%）和发热（29.9%）。镇痛药（81.3%）是自我药疗最常用的药物。仅14.2%的病例自我药疗行为恰当。
关于正确自我药疗的知识掌握较差，对自我药疗的态度积极，自我药疗行为常见且往往不恰当。
