Prevalence of Self Medication in an Urban Slum Area in Maharashtra

Abstract

Background: Self medication is defined asmedication taken on the patient’s own initiativeor on the advice of pharmacist or any other layperson. It is one of the leading causes for theever threatening drug resistance for variousantimicrobials. Objective: To assess the preva-lence of self medication in an urban slum inwestern Maharashtra. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among all thefamilies registered under the urban health train-ing centre. Data was collected from the headof the families using a pretested modified ques-tionnaire. It included the prevalence, source andreasons for the self medication. Percentageswere calculated. Consent was obtained. Resultsand Discussion: Majority of the families(68%) in this study practiced self medicationlike in studies conducted by Toan et al in Viet-nam and Durgawale PM in Maharashtra. All thefamilies approached a nearby medical shop forthe drugs. In the study area 58.8% reported thereason for self medication that the disease wasnot serious and that there was lack of time togo to a hospital (41.2%). Conclusion: Theprevalence of self medication is very high inthe community. So immediate steps should betaken to decrease the easy availability of drugsand health education should be conducted tocreate awareness regarding the consequencesof self medication, and reduce the danger ofdrug resistance.

Keywords

• urban slum
• self medication
• Maharashtra.