Coffman Maren J, Shobe Marcia A, O'Connell Beth
School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223-0001, USA.
Public Health Nurs. 2008 May-Jun;25(3):203-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.2008.00697.x.
Self-prescription involves the purchase and use of restricted medications without medical advice. Although common in Central and South American countries, little is known about this practice among Latino immigrants in the United States. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore how Latino immigrants obtain and use prescription medications without accessing the formal health care system.
This exploratory descriptive study used focus groups to gain an understanding of the use of prescription medications without medical care.
Three focus group discussions were held with 19 adult Latino immigrants who were new residents in the United States, and did not have health insurance; most were undocumented.
Analysis of the data revealed 4 major themes: (a) health care barriers, (b) cultural norms, (c) self-care, and (d) self-prescription.
The data indicate that this population experiences significant barriers to accessing health care, forcing them to seek treatment alternatives including the purchase and use of drugs manufactured in Mexico. There are many public health and safety concerns related to self-prescription practices. Nurses need to be aware of the barriers to health care that lead to these potentially dangerous medication practices, and to recognize and understand self-prescription.
自我配药是指在没有医嘱的情况下购买和使用受限药物。尽管这种情况在中美洲和南美洲国家很常见，但对于美国的拉丁裔移民中这种行为的了解却很少。因此，本研究的目的是探讨拉丁裔移民在不通过正规医疗保健系统的情况下如何获取和使用处方药。
这项探索性描述性研究采用焦点小组来了解在没有医疗护理的情况下处方药的使用情况。
与19名成年拉丁裔移民进行了三次焦点小组讨论，这些移民是美国的新居民，且没有医疗保险；大多数人没有合法身份。
数据分析揭示了4个主要主题：（a）医疗保健障碍，（b）文化规范，（c）自我护理，以及（d）自我配药。
数据表明，这一群体在获得医疗保健方面面临重大障碍，迫使他们寻求替代治疗方法，包括购买和使用墨西哥生产的药品。自我配药行为存在许多公共卫生和安全问题。护士需要意识到导致这些潜在危险用药行为的医疗保健障碍，并认识和理解自我配药行为。
