A study regarding self-medication in students from the Universidad Nacional de la Plata (Argentina)

Self-medication is a dangerous practice with consequences including masking of disease, adverse reactions to medications, drug interaction, resistance to certain types of therapeutic agents and drug dependence. The World Health Organization has considered the possibility of educating population in practices of responsible self-medication, pointing at the pharmacist as a key figure in this educational process. In the present work we have analyzed the self-medication conducts of 462 surveyed college students of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). The. overall results of the survey have been analyzed; we have also divided the surveyed population in subgroups of: a) students of careers related to health sciences and students from other careers and, b) males and females. Results indicate that self-medication is a common practice among college students of UNLP, and that it is not always practiced according to WHO recommendations for responsible, safe self-medication. Moreover, the results of the survey allow establishing the present and potential role of the pharmacist in the education of people in rational use of medicines, as it is perceived by the surveyed population.