Assessing self medication practices among students of Makerere University Business School Jinja Branch

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Date
2018-11
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Publisher
Kampala International University. School of Health Sciences (Western Campus)
Abstract
Objective: Globally, the practice of self-medication has been observed in both developing and developed countries. No data is available on the current status of self-medication practice in Makerere University of Business School Jinja Branch. The objective of this study is to assess the extent of self-medication practice among a random sample of students of Makerere University Business School Jinja Branch. Methods: study done was a cross-sectional, anonymous and questionnaire-based survey that included 174 participants of different academic levels at Makerere University Business School Jinja Branch. With A pre-validated questionnaire with several open-ended, and closed-ended questions was administered to the participants. Data were coded, entered, and analyzed using SPSS version 13. Results: seventy four percent of respondents were males and twenty six percentage females. The mean age of respondents was 19.9 years. 80% of respondents reported practicing self-medication. The average number of medications reported by self-medication practitioners was 2.63 ± 1.38 medications per respondent. Analgesics, decongestants, herbal remedies, and antibiotics were the most common classes reported in self-medication. Headache, high body temperature, stomach ache, cold and malaria were the most common ailments for which respondents seek self medication. The majority of respondents practiced self-medication because they believed they had the knowledge of the drug to take, claiming that there were no side effects, sickness was not serious, and some simple could not access the hospital. However, in selecting a particular type of medication the level of education, gender, and self-care orientation were influential. Conclusion: self-medication is very common among students of Makerere University Business School Jinja Branch with 80% of the respondents self-medicating. This practice is common for treating clinical conditions that are either simple or previously experienced, levels of self-care orientation and medication knowledge can be of value in analyzing the types of medications employed by self-medication practices.
Description
A research proposal submitted to the faculty of Clinical Medicine And Dentistry Kampala International University Western Campus in partial fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery
Keywords
elf medication practices, Students
Citation