Drug Utilization Study for Acute Illnesses in Village Banggol, Malaysia: The findings of a house hold survey

Abstract

Governments of developing nations are concerned about the drug utilization in the community. Little is known about the drug use behaviour patterns among the general public in Malaysia. There is no systematic or comprehensive data on the utilization of medicines and patient compliance after they have been marketed and prescribed in the community. A household level, cross – sectional study was undertaken to delineate the utilization of drugs vis-à-vis sources of the medications in village Banggol in the state of Kedah in Peninsular Malaysia. The results showed that the prevalence of morbidity due to acute illnesses was 11.3% and rural Malaysians use drugs properly for common acute illnesses in community setting. This population is aware of the types of medication that are prescribed for episodes of common acute illnesses and they also know how to use and store the drugs properly.