Research Literature Foreign

A multicenter cross-sectional descriptive study about the prevalence of dermatology self-

medication among healthcare professional and their students were conducted through the use of a

self-administered questionnaire. A total of 423 participants (120 nurses and 303 nursing students)

participated in the study. The majority of the respondents 362 (85.58%) reported to having self-

medicated in the past. 247 (58.39%) of the respondents used self-medication for dermatological

diseases. For nursing students, topical 157 (100%) was the most common administration route

for dermatologic conditions. Acne 63/157 (40.13%) was the most frequent condition to be self-

medicated, followed by contact dermatitis 33/157 (21.02%). Corticosteroids 54/152 (35.53%)

were the most used topical drug, followed by antibiotics 32/152 (21.05%), while the most used

oral medication were antihistamines 11/57 (19.30%). The main reason for self-medication was

advice from a pharmacist 49/157 (31.21%), followed by the advice of a physician (not a

dermatologist) or another nurse 33/157 (21.02%) and for others, it was the surplus of prior

medications stored at home 31/157 (19.75%). An assumed knowledge pertaining to the disease

and its treatment was the most common rationale to self-medicate on their own initiative 10/17

(58.82%). In conclusion, self-medication is more frequent among nurses and nursing students

despite their knowledge of the involved risks (Batalla et al., 2024).

A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted online between January to February of

2021 where a questionnaire was used to analyze self-medication data. The current study

describes the self-medication practices of medical and pharmacy students and their reasons to

use during the pandemic. A total of 374 medical and 115 pharmacy students participated in the
study. This study found a high prevalence of self-medication among 316 out of 474 (84.5%)

medical students and 90 out of 115 (78.3%) pharmacy students were using medications since the

beginning of the pandemic. Paracetamol (65.2%), multivitamins (56.0%), Ibuprofen (29.0%),

Cetirizine (27.8%), and Azithromycin (25.6%) were the frequently used medications. Cold/flu

(71.4%), and preventive measures for COVID-19 (43.3%), or a self-treatment for the symptoms

of COVID-19 (34.1%) were the common reasons reported for self-medication practice. Use of

these medications with no reason or symptoms have been reported by 35.2%, while 40.1%

regularly consumed them for different reasons. The symptoms indicated for the use of self-

medication included fever (67.9%), fatigue (51.7%), cough (44.4%), sneezing (40.7%), muscle

pain/body aches (54.0%), nasal congestion (42.1%), sore throat (46.6%), anosmia (23.1%), and

breathing difficulty (24.5%)

While the high percentage of self-medication indicates the confidence of self-prescribing

among medical students, there is a possibility that the knowledge of the students about the

pharmacology of the drug, cultural prevalence, and their student-level experience make them at-

risk for unfortunate outcomes (Chindhalore et al., 2020). Risks for drug dependence and

addiction can be induced by self-medication, which students must be aware of (Pandolfi et al.,

2021).

In conclusion, the study revealed that there is a high prevalence of self-medication practices

among pharmacy and medical students. It presents itself as a significant health issue particularly

in times of the pandemic, as increased consumption is reported as a measure to preventor treat

symptoms of COVID-19 (Asghar et al., 2022).

Valley University, it was identified that nearly half of the respondents 189 (47.3%) were not

informed about the medication classification of OTC and prescription-only drugs and about 165

(41.3%) are informed about the medication classification of OTC and prescription-only drugs.

Fever/headache (69.3%) and gastric pain (67.5%) were the most commonly reported self-

medication symptom. Paracetamol (92.0%), antacids (71.8%), and antibiotic (66.9%) were the

most often used medication among the participants. The majority (81.3%) self-medicated due to

the non-serious nature of the disease to be followed by quick relief (70.3%), and emergency use

(45.8%). 44 (11.0%) of the respondents had various reasons for self-medicating such as the lack

of time for medical consultation by a physician, drug type class repetition, having prior

knowledge of a symptom due to previous illness and knowing what to take, confidence on self-

diagnosis, and a non-responsiveness history with the prescribed medication. Around 60 (15.0%)

of the respondents agreed that self-medication with lack of proper knowledge about the drug and

the disease would be dangerous while 149 (37.3%) of the respondents agree that it is acceptable

for medical students participate in self-medication. Majority of the pharmacy students have the

belief that health science students have good capability to self-medicate. The main source of

information with regards to self-medication was reading material (56.3%), advice from the

pharmacist (43.8%), and advice from physician/nurses with no prescription (38.8%). The study

revealed that a large amount of pharmacy students participates in self-medication while half of

the respondents do not have any knowledge regarding OTC and prescription-only drugs. The

improper consumption of medications can result in drug resistance, increased side-effects, and

toxicity in which students should be cautious about (Getachew et al., 2017).

Batalla, A., Martinez-Santos, A. E., Braña Balige, S., Varela Fontán, S., Vilanova-Trillo, L.,

Diéguez, P., & Flórez, Á. (2024, January). Dermatology Self-Medication in Nursing Students

and Professionals: A Multicentre Study. www.mdpi.com. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-

9032/12/2/258

Yasmin F, Asghar MS, Naeem U, Najeeb H, Nauman H, Ahsan MN and Khattak AK (2022) Self-

Medication Practices in Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional

Analysis. Front. Public Health 10:803937. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.803937

(Not checked if APA 7)

Beyene A, Getachew E, Doboch A, Poulos E, Abdurahman K, et al. (2017) Knowledge, Attitude

and Practice of Self Medication among Pharmacy Students of Rift Valley University, Abichu

Campus, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. J Health Med Informat 8: 269. doi: 10.4172/2157-

7420.1000269

Chindhalore CA, Dakhale GN, Giradkar AB. Comparison of self-medication practices with

analgesics among undergraduate medical and paramedical students of a tertiary care teaching
institute in Central India – a questionnaire-based study. J Educ Health Promot. (2020) 9:309. doi:

10.4103/jehp.jehp_378_20

Pandolfi S, Simonetti V, Ricevuti G, Chirumbolo S. Paracetamol in the home treatment of early

COVID-19 symptoms: a possible foe rather than a friend for elderly patients? J Med Virol.

(2021) 93:5704–6. doi: 10.1002/jmv.27158