Perception and practice of self-medication among non-clinical students in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Keywords:
self-medication, non-clinical students, Niger Delta University, NigeriaAbstract
Background: Self-medication is practiced worldwide and even among non-clinical students. In this cross sectional study, the researchers examined the perception and practice of self-medication among non-clinical students in Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study involved non -clinical students of the university in the 2013/2014academic session. Methods: Simple random sampling technique by way of balloting was used to select 7 out of the 11 faculties of the university. Selection of departments from the various faculties was done based on calculation of proportions as provided by the calculated sample sizeof 220 obtained using Leslie Kish sample size calculation formula while the respondents were selected from each level using systematic random sampling. A semi –structured questionnaire was used for data collection after it was presented to research experts and a statistician for necessary modifications to ensure face and content validity while reliability was ensured through a pre –test on 30 respondents from Faculty of Social Sciences of Federal University of Science and Technology, Otueke Bayelsa Stateyielding a coefficient of 0.89. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from Ethical Review Committee of Niger Delta University. Respondents’ consent was obtained and the researchers administered the questionnaire to the respondents face to face and retrieved them after been dully completed. Data obtained was presented in frequencies, percentages and charts and Chi square (X2) was used to test the formulated hypotheses. Results: Findings revealed a positive perception about self-medication and respondents were found to be highly involved in its practice. Most of the respondents believed self-medication is cheaper, saves time and is as effective as prescription medicine. The study also identified factors influencing practice of self-medication as minor illnesses, past experience, avoidance of long waiting hours in queue to see a physician and time constrain. Findings revealed a significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (age and sex) and the practice of self-medication as well as between perception and practice of self-medication. Conclusion: Self–medication was commonly practiced among non–clinical students who justified this action for so many reasons ranging from finance, time, severity of illness and past experience.Keywords:self-medication, non-clinical students, Niger Delta University, NigeriaReferences
Afolabi, A.O. (2012). Self-Medication, Drug Dependency and Self-Managed Health Care - A Review, Public Health - Social and Behavioral Health, Prof. Jay Maddock (Ed.), ISBN:978-953-51-0620-3,InTech,Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/public-health-social-and-behavioral-health/self-medication-drugdependency- and-self-managed-health-
Afolabi, A.O. (2008). Factors Influencing the Pattern of Self Medication in an Adult Nigerian Population. Ann. Afr. Med. 7: 3: 120 – 127.
Girma, B.G., Diriba A. G., Zerihun, A. K., Derbew, F. B, Abera H. B., Mussie ,G. H, Gebremedhin, S. H, Naod, G. A, Raghavendra Y., & Abrham W. D, (2011). Self-Medication Practices among Health Sciences Students: The Case of Mekelle University. Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science 1(10): 183-189
Hussain, A, & Khanum A (2008). Self-medication among university students of Islamabad, Pakistan- a preliminary study. Southern Med Review 1(1):14-16
Igbiks, T., & Ibrahim, M. S. (2011). Self-Medication with Antibiotics amongst Students of a Nigerian Tertiary Institution. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research, 1(10):1319-1326
Irvine , L., Flynn R., Libby G., Crombie, I.K., & Evans, J.M. ( 2010). Drugs dispensed in primary care during pregnancy: a record-linkage analysis in Tayside, Scotland. Drug Saf. 33(7):593-604.
Kayode, K. (2014). Attitude and practice of self-medication among residents of Ikeja Lagos. Journal of Academia.. htt://journal of acad. http://www.icpjonline.com/documents.
Mohamed, S., Sankar, T.K.C., & Dilip, A.C., (2011). Self-Medication with over the Counter Drugs, scholars research library. Com/ …/DPL, 1(10)1319-1326
Ogar, N. (2014). Drug peddling as aid to self-medication. Issues Desk” of the Nigerian News Portal in the Radio House, Abuja.
Osemene, K.P., & Lamikanra, A., (2012). A Study of the Prevalence of Self-Medication Practice among University Students in Southwestern Nigeria. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research .vol11 :4: 683-689 Available online at http://www.tjpr.org
Rohra, D.K., Das N., Azam, SI., Solangi, NA., Memom, Z., Shaikh, AM., & Khan, NH..(2008). Drug Prescribing patterns during pregnancy in the tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan, 8:24.
Sharif, S.I, Ibrahim, O.H., Mouslli, L, & Waisi, R. (2012). Evaluation of self-medication among pharmacy students. Am J Pharmcol Toxicol 7:135-40.
Sonam, J., Reetesh, M., & Jeetendra, K.P. (2011). Concept of Self Medication: A Review International Journal of Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives; 2(3):831-836
World Health Organization (2010): The role of the pharmacist in self-care and self-medication. Available from:http://www.apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/whozip 32e/whozip32e.pdf
World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI)(2008). From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Self-Medication.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2017 The Nigerian Health Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The Journal is owned, published and copyrighted by the Nigerian Medical Association, River state Branch. The copyright of papers published are vested in the journal and the publisher. In line with our open access policy and the Creative Commons Attribution License policy authors are allowed to share their work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations. While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
TNHJ also supports open access archiving of articles published in the journal after three months of publication. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g, in institutional repositories or on their website) within the stated period, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). All requests for permission for open access archiving outside this period should be sent to the editor via email to editor@tnhjph.com.
