A Questionnaire Based Study Regarding the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication Among Second Year Undergraduate Medical Students

International Journal of Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, 2017, 6, 1, 1-5.
DOI: 10.5530/ijpcs.6.1.1
Published: October 2017
Type: Original Article
Authors: Rajanish Kumar Sankdia, Mehul Agrawal, Parabathina Bindu Rekha, and Nitin Kothari

 

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Background: Self-medication is becoming very common in our routine life which is an unhealthy and risky practice.Present study was done to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among second year undergraduate medical students of a private medical college in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Material and methods: A pre-validated questionnaire was prepared and distributed among the students.Data was collected and analysed using Microsoft Excel and the results expressed as counts and percentages. Results: Total 139 students participated in the study voluntarily and most common reason for taking Self-medication was that there was no need to visit the doctor for minor illness. In maximum students, source of information of the drugs used for Self-medication was previous prescription and source of the drugs was medical store. Only 39% MBBS students accepted the fact, that they always visited a qualified practitioner whenever they fell ill. Most of the students took Self-medication for headache followed by cough, cold and fever. Out of total 139 students, most of the students took NSAIDS as Self-medication followed by lozenges. Conclusion: This study showed that students of second year MBBS after studying pharmacology became more aware about the drugs and hence do not hesitate in taking Self-medication which is a wrong practice.

 

Keywords: Attitude, Knowledge, Practice, Questionnaire, Second Year MBBS, Self-medication