Self-medication’s knowledge and practices among students of a selected public university in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Objectives: Self-medication is a global public health issue. The increase in the rate of careless self-medication is high and a common practice globally. Youth in Nigeria self-medicate at an alarming rate creating a significant health care concern. Aim is to assess the knowledge, practices and factors influencing self-medication among students of a public university in South-Western, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out on 2000 respondents selected by multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using Self-administered questionnaire and analysed with descriptive statistics and chi square using SPSS version 25. Level of significance was 5% ( P <0.05). Results: Overall knowledge and utilization was low (39.4%) and high (93.8%) respectively. Advice from family and friends (75.4%), easy availability of drugs in chemist stores (73.8%), long waiting time to visit a qualified practitioner (70.8%), healthcare cost (69.2%), distance to healthcare centres (65.4%), were factors identified as influencing the practice of self-medication among the respondents. The result also showed that there was no statistically significant difference between respondents’ social demographic traits (age, sex, religion, ethnicity and residence) and their knowledge of self-medication ( P >0.05), and also respondents’ knowledge and practice of self-medication ( P >0.05). But significant difference was found between the respondents’ social demographic characteristics (marital status, level of study) and their knowledge of self-medication ( P <0.05). Conclusion: There is a need for effective awareness and education on the significance of professional consultation before drug usage.