Niwandinda Faith, Lukyamuzi Edward John, Ainebyona Calvin, Ssebunya Veronica Nambi, Murungi Godwin, Atukunda Esther C
Department of Pharmacy, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda.
Integr Pharm Res Pract. 2020 Feb 13;9:41-48. doi: 10.2147/IPRP.S237940. eCollection 2020.
Self-medication is drug use without advice from a medical professional. Proper self-medication can reduce health expenses and physician waiting time. However, prescription or over-the-counter drugs are considered unsafe when used irrationally. Presumably, university students can make informed decisions regarding their lives. However, there are limited studies documenting self-medication in Ugandan universities. This study sought to document the prevalence, patterns and factors associated with self-medication among students enrolled at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST).
A descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 385 medical and non-medical students. Data were collected by interviewer-led semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. The statistical significance was considered as < 0.05 for both univariate and multivariate analyses.
This study showed a 63.5% prevalence of self-medication. Self-medication reasons were classifying illnesses as minor (33%), time-saving (15%), having old prescriptions (11%) and high consultation fees (9%). Not self-medicating reasons included risk of using wrong drugs (19%), insufficient knowledge (17%), fear of side effects (15%), wrong drug use (15%) and misdiagnosis (14%). Respondents accessed drugs from pharmacies (56%), friends/family (17%) or private clinics (15%). Headache relievers, pain relievers and antibiotics were most commonly self-medicated. In adjusted analysis, being female, existing allergies, and being in advanced years of study were associated with increased odds of self-medication. No statistically significant difference existed between medical and non-medical students regarding self-medication. Self-medication likelihood increased with a lack of access to medical services.
There is a high rate of self-medication amongst female students, those in advanced years of study and those with existing allergies. Medical services access significantly reduced the chances of self-medication. Vital medical services need to be extended to the university students to receive information on medicines, diagnosis, prescription and treatment. More studies should evaluate the impact of a high rate of self-medication among these students.
自我药疗是指在没有医学专业人员建议的情况下使用药物。适当的自我药疗可以降低医疗费用并减少等待看医生的时间。然而，不合理使用处方药或非处方药被认为是不安全的。大学生大概能够对自己的生活做出明智的决定。然而，关于乌干达大学自我药疗情况的研究有限。本研究旨在记录姆巴拉拉科技大学（MUST）在校学生自我药疗的患病率、模式及相关因素。
对385名医学和非医学专业学生进行了一项描述性横断面研究。通过访谈者主导的半结构化问卷收集数据，并使用社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）20版进行分析。单因素和多因素分析的统计学显著性均设定为<0.05。
本研究显示自我药疗的患病率为63.5%。自我药疗的原因包括将疾病归类为轻症（33%）、节省时间（15%）、有旧处方（11%）和诊疗费高（9%）。不进行自我药疗的原因包括使用错误药物的风险（19%）、知识不足（17%）、害怕副作用（15%）、用药错误（15%）和误诊（14%）。受访者从药店获取药物的比例为56%，从朋友/家人处获取的比例为17%，从私人诊所获取的比例为15%。最常进行自我药疗的药物是头痛缓解药、止痛剂和抗生素。在调整分析中，女性、存在过敏史以及高年级学生自我药疗的几率增加。医学专业和非医学专业学生在自我药疗方面无统计学显著差异。因难以获得医疗服务，自我药疗的可能性增加。
在女生、高年级学生以及有过敏史的学生中，自我药疗的比例较高。获得医疗服务显著降低了自我药疗的几率。需要向大学生提供重要的医疗服务，以便他们获取有关药物、诊断、处方和治疗的信息。更多研究应评估这些学生中高自我药疗率的影响。
