Assessment of Pharmacy Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Self Medication

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Pharmacy students about self-medication in Turkey. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey study was conducted to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Süleyman Demirel University Faculty of Pharmacy students regarding selfmedication between 22 September and 22 October 2022. Results: The questionnaires were answered by 336 students (76%). Most of the students (79.2%) correctly defined self-medication and 9.5% of students declared that self-medication was a part of self-care. Only 4.2% of students reported that they recommended self-medication to others. Female students had better knowledge and more negative attitudes about self-medication than male students (p<0.05). Approximately 79% of the students stated that they used self-medication in the last 6 months. About half of the participants (54.4%) stated that they had taken painkillers without a prescription in the last 6 months. The students declared that they had used drugs without a prescription for headache (36.3%), common cold (14.8%) and menstrual problems (10.4%) in the last 6 months, respectively. Conclusion: Most of the students had good knowledge about self-medication, but the majority of them had negative attitudes. The study also showed that self-medication was common among these students. Pharmacists make an important contribution to the public health system. Pharmacy students should continue to be educated about responsible self-medication as future pharmacists.

Keywords

• knowledge
• attitude
• practice
• pharmacy students
• selfmedication