Mlinar Suzana, Malnaršič Rosanda Rašković
Vojnosanit Pregl. 2015 Sep;72(9):794-800. doi: 10.2298/vsp140606068m.
BACKGROUND/AIM: The use of over-the-counter (OTC) medication is widespread among the adult and student populations in Slovenia. The aim of the study was to analyse the prevalence of OTC medicines use among nursing students with respect to sociodemographic characteristics.
A total of 241 nursing students in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ljubljana, were included in the cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was created for the purposes of the study. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS 20. Descriptive statistics, t-test and the contingency coefficient were calculated. Statistical significance was set at the p-value of < 0.05.
The study showed that the use of prescription drugs was significantly higher in women (p = 0.029), students living in rural areas (p = 0.005) and students who described themselves as being of bad health (p = 0.008). At the same time, a third of the respondents had been taking one OTC medicine within the last month; those taking several prescription drugs commonly administered several over-the-counter medicines (p = 0.027). Women used OTC medicines to treat pain and fever (p = 0.001), respiratory issues (p = 0.015), and fungal infections (p < 0.000) more often than men. OTC medicines were also used to treat minor mental health issues by a higher proportion of respondents over 21 years of age (p = 0.005) and women (p < 0.000), while over-the-counter medicines for treating skin conditions were more frequently used in rural areas (p = 0.006).
Nursing students tend to use OTC medicines on their own accord, receiving instructions for safe use with their purchase, which points to adequate promotion of safe use of medications in Slovenia. Men's assessment of their personal health tends to be better than that of women, who also use medication more frequently. A connection between poor health and a higher incidence of the use of OTC medicines was established. The use of OTC medicines to treat minor mental health issues increased with age and was more typical of women. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of personal control over the safe use of medicines, motivation for personal good health and a healthy lifestyle.
背景/目的：非处方药（OTC）在斯洛文尼亚的成年人和学生群体中广泛使用。本研究的目的是分析护理专业学生使用非处方药的情况及其社会人口学特征。
卢布尔雅那健康科学学院的241名护理专业学生参与了这项横断面研究。为此研究设计了一份问卷。使用SPSS 20进行统计分析。计算描述性统计量、t检验和列联系数。设定p值<0.05为具有统计学意义。
研究表明，女性（p = 0.029）、居住在农村地区的学生（p = 0.005）以及自认为健康状况不佳的学生（p = 0.008）使用处方药的比例显著更高。同时，三分之一的受访者在过去一个月内服用过一种非处方药；服用多种处方药的人通常也会服用几种非处方药（p = 0.027）。女性比男性更常使用非处方药来治疗疼痛和发烧（p = 0.001）、呼吸道问题（p = 0.015）以及真菌感染（p < 0.000）。21岁以上的受访者（p = 0.005）和女性（p < 0.000）中，有更高比例的人使用非处方药来治疗轻微的心理健康问题，而用于治疗皮肤疾病的非处方药在农村地区使用得更频繁（p = 0.006）。
护理专业学生倾向于自行使用非处方药，并在购买时获得安全使用说明，这表明斯洛文尼亚在安全用药推广方面做得较好。男性对自身健康的评估往往优于女性，而女性用药也更频繁。健康状况不佳与非处方药使用频率较高之间存在关联。使用非处方药治疗轻微心理健康问题的情况随年龄增长而增加，且在女性中更为常见。研究结果表明了个人对安全用药进行自我控制、保持身体健康的积极性以及健康生活方式的重要性。
