Prevalence of Self-Medication Essay

Antibiotic self-medicament among university aesculapian undergraduates in blue Nigeria Joseph O. Fad atomic account 18 1* and Igbiks Tamuno 21Department of Medicine, Kogi State specialiser Hospital, Lokoja, Nigeria 2Department of Pharmaco hazy, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. Accepted 20 April, 2011Self- medical specialty is becoming a rough-cut type of self-c be behavior among the universe of m each an some opposite(prenominal) countries. Many international studies buzz off investigated the preponderance and constitution of self-medication exerts at the cosmos aim. In Nigeria, some workers bring on withal looked at the state prevalence of self-medication in habitual however the prevalence of antibiotic medicine do drugs drug drug self-medication among aesculapian checkup undergraduates has non yet been studied. The liaison in reflecting this form among this take in separate is due to the fact that they are the future prescribers and welln ess educators of the state of Nigeria. The sphere was a cross-sectional pre-tested wondernaire-based culture carried disc everyplace among checkup students of the Bayero University, Kano, North- westernmost Nigeria during a two-week hitch in prideful 2008. The in take a leakation from the returned questionnaire were coded, entered and canvas utilize SPSS Version 12 statistical software.A full(a) of 183 students filled and returned the questionnaire fully grown a response rate of 83.2%. proscribed of these respondents, 120 (65.6%) were males and the mean term of respondents was 23.2 2.5 eld (Range 17 to 31). 71 (38.8%) of the medical students admitted to the form and on that point was no statistically material difference among the varied trains of medical pedagogy (p 0.05). Antibiotics from the penicillin group (ampicillin/cloxacillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin) were the to a greater extent or less much personad. Self-medication with antibiotics is preval ent among medical undergraduates in blue Nigeria. in that respect is a need for an intercession to bid this course session. Key words Antibiotics, self-medication, medical undergraduates, Nigeria. INTRODUCTIONAntibiotics are ane of the most prescribed drugs worldwide (Tnger et al., 2000). Self-medication with antibiotics is a common utilize in many countries in the world although the edit out seems to be much in dumbfounding or re spring-poor nations (Awad et al., 2005). or so of the reasons that rent been found responsible for this trend include lack of vex to wellness care,availability of antibiotics as over the incompatible (OTC) drugs and in candid markets and poor regulatory shapes (Vaananen et al., 2006). Self-medication with antibiotics has been identified as one form of ir thinking(prenominal) spend of medicine contribute to *Corresponding write. E-mail jofadaregmail.com. Tel +234- 8138048127. increased health care costs, antimicrobial drug resistance an d sometimes increased morbidity among the popu- lation (Aswapokee et al., 1990 Okeke et al., 1999).The practice of self-medication in general has been widely studied among populations of many countries in Africa, Asia and Europe (Martins et al., 2002 Yousef et al., 2008 Awad et al., 2007a). One of the factors that have been found to influence this practice is the level of get hold of of the enquiry participants (Afolabi, 2008). Many studies have excessively forwardly looked at the pre- valence, nature and reasons for self-medication among university undergraduates (non-medical) in different countries of the world (Zafar et al., 2008 Sawalha, 2008 Lucas et al., 2007). in that respect are besides studies on general self-medication practices among medical undergraduates in some early(a) countries (Buke et al., 2005 Chowdhury 218 J. everyday health Epidemiol.et al., 2009). In Nigeria, previous studies have concen- trated on general self-medication practices among the population (Afolabi, 2008) and health care workers (Bamgboye et al., 2006). This study of antibiotic self- medication practice among university medical undergraduates in Nigeria is very important as they are a segment of the population that is highly educated and with access to information regarding their health. look at this practice among medical undergraduates is in like manner very vital as they establish the future generation of drug prescribers and health breedingists.The understanding of the level of antibiotic self-medication practice and the reasons for it exit enable for different interventional strategies. It will also help policy makers to develop approaches for a much sane use of antibiotics in the participation in general. The chief(prenominal) objective of this study was to determine the oftenness and nature of antibiotic self-medication practice among university medical undergraduates in the Northern part of Nigeria. This study also sought if there is any relationshi p among the level of medical education and the self-medicationpractice. METHODSThe study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study carried out among medical students of the Bayero University, Kano, North- West Nigeria during a two-week period in August 2008. SamplingA total of two hundred and twenty self-administered questionnaires were distributed to students from different level of medical education (200 to 500 Level) using a convenient sampling system. QuestionnaireThe questionnaire which had been pre-tested among students of other faculty in the university consisted of both open and close ended questions. The questionnaires were administered to the students through their partitioning representatives who also returned the filled ones. The act of fill and returning of the forms was taken as react of the students to participate and the study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee. The lead question was Have you do self-medication with antibiotics in the decease two months?The duration of two months was chosen because of the belief that recall of medication use is still very reliable at bottom that time frame. Other questions include The reasons for tomfoolery in self-medication, conditions for which the drugs were taken and the antibiotics that were being apply. statistical analysesThe information from the returned questionnaire were coded and entered using SPSS version 12 statistical software. Results were expressed as counts and percentages speckle Chi-square test was used for to investigate attainable associations between sex, level of medical education and antibiotic self-medication practice. A p-value 0.05 was considered as statistically significant for the purpose of this study. RESULTSA total of one 183 students filled and returned the questionnaire giving a response rate of 83.2%. Out of these respondents, one hundred and twenty (65.6%) were males and the mean age of all respondents was 23.2 2.5 years (Range 17 to 31 years ). The distribution of the respondents according to level of medical education is show upn in Table 1. In response to the questionwhether respondents had practiced self- medication in the preceding two months, 71 (38.8%) of the medical students admitted to the practice and there was no statistically significant difference among the different levels of medical education (p 0.05). Though self-medication with antibiotics was more common among the male students, this difference was not statistically significant (p 0.05). The common conditions for which the antibiotics were taken include diarrhea, sore throat, fever, cough and catarrh among others (Table 2). Antibiotics from the penicillin group (ampicillin/cloxacillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin) were the most frequently used for self-medication among the respondents (Table 3).29 (42.6%) of the medical undergraduates who indulged in the practice did it because they considered their ailment as being kooky while 24 (35.3%) were involved in it because of their past experience with the particular antibiotic. Regarding the source of the antibiotics used for self-medication, majority of the respondents (57.4%) patronized glaring medicine stores while hospital and participation pharmacies were the suppliers for 13 (19.1%) and 11 (16.2%) of the respondents, respectively. Only 1 respondent (1.5%) used the leftover from a previous prescription in this study. majority of the medical undergraduates (89.6%) knew that the normal duration of intercession was supposed to be at least a minimum of 5 years however only 34 (49.3%) of the respondents really completed the course of treatment. This study also found out that gender of the respondents did not influence significantly the practice of antibiotic self-medication (p = 0.07). DISCUSSIONSample population and self-medicationThe frequency of antibiotic self- medication observed in our study is slightly clinical depressioner than that account in similar studies in Africa (Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b) and walking(prenominal) to that found in population-based studies in Jordan and Lithuania (Al-Azzam et al., 2007 Berzanskyte et al., 2006). This goes to show that there might not be a signi- ficant difference in self-care or health-seeking behavior between our segment of the population and the general population. This conclusion is also back up by findings from a study on self-medication in general among Fadare and Tamuno 219Table 1. dispersion of respondents by level of medical education and practice of self-medication. University level Self-medication (Y) Self-medication (N) Total number of respondent 200 10 31 41 300 20 26 46 400 27 43 70 500 12 9 21 Missing value 2 3 5 Total 71 112 183 Table 2. Conditions for which self-medication was practiced. ConditionNo. of respondents (Percentage) profligacy 17 (24.6) Sore throat 14 (20.3) Fever 12 (17.4) Cough 6 (8.7) Catarrh 4 (5.8) Toothache 4 (5.8) re mains aches 2 (2.9) Others 10 (14.5) Table 3. unremark ably used antibiotics by respondents.Antibiotics Frequency (Percentage) ampicillin/cloxacillin 15 (22.1) Amoxicillin 12 (17.6) metronidazole 12 (17.6) Co-trimoxazole 8 (11.8) Ciprofloxacin 6 (8.8) Tetracycline 6 (8.8) Amoxicillin/Clavulanic caustic 3 (4.4) Penicillin G 1 (1.5) health care workers of a tertiary healthcare facility in South-West Nigeria where over 70% of them were engaged in the practice (Bamgboye et al., 2006). Another possible explanation is that the prior quoted population- based studies were carried out in societies where the literacy levels are relatively high. It is also important to bank bill that such levels of antibiotic self-medication even exists in some countries with more stringent access to drugs, this being made possible by use of left-overs from previous prescriptions. Clinical features and self-medicationThere are similarities in the conditions for which self- medication was practiced in our study with several other university and community-based s tudies (Zafar et al., 2008 Shankar et al., 2002 mob et al., 2006). These findings emphasize the fact that self-medication is usually resorted to by individuals for perceived mild clinical conditions. The problem with this practice is that fever and other similar symptoms which could be due to viral conditions are usually wrongly hard-boiled with antibiotics creating a foundation for possible reading of resistance to antibiotics in addition to pecuniary loss and possible adverse drug reactions. Antibiotic and self-medicationThe prize of the antibiotics from the penicillin group (especially ampicillin/cloxacillin and amoxicillin) by majority of respondents in our study is in keeping with findings from other studies (Awad et al., 2005 Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b Raz et al., 2005). The choice of the antibiotics from the penicillin group could be due to the adjacent reasons 1. They are cheap, easily accessible, have a good safety profile and someway broad spectrum of antimicrobial ac tivity. The relatively low patronage of antibiotics like amoxicillin/clavulanic dose could be due to its cost (about 1500 Naira /10 US Dollars) per course of treatment, this in a country where over 60% of the population survive on less than 2 US Dollars daily. 2. It is also pertinent to mark that at the moment, there are no restrictions to how and where antibiotics can be sold in Nigeria hence the easy accessibility. virtually of our respondents got their put up from patent medicine stores, hospital and community pharmacies reinforcing the earlier mentioned problem of lack of regulation. This is at variance with findings from other studies where left-over from old prescriptions were the main source of supply reflecting a more regulated access to antibiotics in these societies (Awad and Eltayeb, 2007b crowd et al., 2006). This study revealed no strong associations between gender, level of medical education and the practice of antibiotic self-medication, a finding that is someways different from the result of similar research in the Arabian Gulf ( pile et al., 2008) where the prevalence of self- medication was higher in the more senior medical students. Presently in many medical schools in Nigeria, 220 J. Public Health Epidemiol.pharmacological medicine is taught either originally the clinical prep or at its initial stage and there is no significant reinforce- ment during the latter stages. Also alike much attention is being hardened on the basic aspect of pharmacology to the detriment of its clinical section and gainful attention to this problem might be one level of intervention to address it. ConclusionThis study has shown that self-medication with antibiotics is common among medical undergraduates in Northern Nigeria. There is a need for a review of educational programs especially the teaching of clinical pharmaco- logy to include modules on self- medication and rational use of medicines. At thepolicy-making level, there is an urgent need to legisla te and compel laws restricting access to antibiotics in Nigeria. Most importantly, there is a need for a robust public enlightenment hunt to educate the populace of the disadvantages and possible complications of antibiotic self-medication. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe authors gratitude goes to the medical undergraduates of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria who participated in this study. He is also grateful to the organizers of the International Training dustup on the Promoting Rational Drug economic consumption in the Community, Jaipur, India where the idea for the work was conceptualized. The author was a participant in the 2008 training course and the contribution of the faculty and bloke participants is really appreciated. REFERENCESAfolabi AO (2008). 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