Exploring Drugs, Reasons and Sources of Self-Medication Practices Among Pharmacy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Self-medication practice among undergraduate pharmacy students can reflect how they will promote responsible self-medication in their future practice. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of self-medication practice among pharmacy students. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 450 pharmacy students using a pre-validated questionnaire. STATA15.0 was used to statistically analyze the collected data and the results were expressed as counts and percentages. Among 418 students, 327 students utilized self-medication (78.23%) and only these respondents were included in further analyses. Paracetamol was found to be used by 66.4% while 28.1% students used antimicrobials as self-medication. Majority of the students (67.9%) obtained their medication from community pharmacies. Mild illness, previous experience with the illness, quick relief and avoidance of long waiting hours at clinics were leading reasons for self-medication among the students in our sample. Headache (69.7%) and cough cold (51.1%) were common indications for which students self-medicated. Most of the students who practiced self-medication, obtained the information regarding the medications from medical practitioners, or pharmacists, while some of them self-treated based on their own knowledge or the information they found in the media. Self-medication practice was found to be high and common among pharmacy students. Pharmacy students should be made fully aware of the benefits and drawbacks of self-medication and should be encouraged to practice and promote responsible self-medication within the community.