Patterns and practice of self-medication among children presenting with acute respiratory tract infection or diarrhoea

Authors

  • Shashi Kant Dhir Department of Paediatrics, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab, India
  • Amit Jain Department of Pharmacology, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab, India
  • Meenal Batta Department of Physiology, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab, India
  • Gaganpreet Singh Department of Community Medicine, Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, Punjab, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20160097

Keywords:

Self-Medication, Children, Acute respiratory tract infection, Diarrhoea

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is quite prevalent in many parts of the world and has led to wastage of precious manpower and time due to many adverse consequences. As a result there is great burden on a country both financially as well as health point of view. The purpose of this study was to identify the pattern and practice of self-medication among children presenting with Acute Respiratory Tract Infection or Diarrhoea in a tertiary care hospital of northern India.

Methods: A single point cross sectional study was conducted in 500 parents accompanying the children in the Paediatrics out Patient Department (OPD) of a Medical College in Northern India. The tool used for the study was a predesigned questionnaire. The data was evaluated using descriptive statistical analysis.

Results: Out of 500 subjects 486 were found eligible for enrolment. Out of these eligible subjects, 308 (63.3%) parents reported history of self-medication. 143 (51.3%) male children were administered self-medication. This number was proportionately higher in females (79.7%). The drug most commonly administered were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (64.3%) followed by antibiotics and cough and cold preparations. The most common source of drug procurement was the left over drugs from previous treatment (75.2%) followed by purchase from a medical store. Most common reason for self-medication was previous experience with the prescribed drugs (76.6%).

Conclusions: The problem of self-medication of prescription only drugs is quite prevalent in this part of the country. As self-medication has its complications and adversities proper orientation and awareness of the population about self-medication is of utmost importance for proper utilization of resources and manpower. Further the government agencies should ensure proper implementation and supervision of laws related to sale of ‘Prescription only drugs’.

References

WHO: Guidelines for the regulatory assessment of Medicinal Products for use in self-medication. WHO/EDM/QSM/00.1. Geneva, 2000.

Badiger S, Kundapur R, Jain A, Kumar A, Pattanshetty S, Thakolkaran N, et al. Self-medication patterns among medical students in South India. Australas Med J. 2012;5(4):217-20.

Hussain A, Khanum A. Self medication among university students of Islamabad, Pakistan - a preliminary study. South Med Rev. 2008;1(1):14-6.

Alam N, Saffoon N, Uddin R. Self-medication among medical and pharmacy students in Bangladesh. BMC Res Notes. 2015;8(1):763.

Office of population census and surveys. The general household survey. Practitoner. 1983; 227:1609-915.

Bairwa M, Rajput M, Sachdeva S. Modified Kuppuswamy’s Socioeconomic Scale: Social Researcher Should Include Updated Income Criteria, 2012. Indian J Community Med Off Publ Indian Assoc Prev Soc Med. 2013;38(3):185.

Tibdewal S, Gupta M. Mother’s use of medication in their children of preschool age. Indian J Public Health. 2005;49(1):27-9.

Pileggi C, Mascaro V, Bianco A, Pavia M. Over-the-Counter Drugs and Complementary Medications Use among Children in Southern Italy. BioMed Res Int. 2015;2015:413912.

Bella H, Ai-Freihi H, El-Mousan M, Danso KT, Sohaibani M, Khazindar MS. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices related to Diarrhoea in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. J Fam Community Med. 1994;1(1):40-4.

Jensen JF, Gottschau M, Siersma VD, Graungaard AH, Holstein BE, Knudsen LE. Association of maternal self-medication and over-the-counter analgesics for children. Pediatrics. 2014;133(2):e291-8.

Mohanna M. Self-medication with Antibiotic in Children in Sana’a City, Yemen. Oman Med J. 2010;25(1):41-3.

Arokiasamy P, Pradhan J. Gender bias against female children in India: Regional differences and their implications for MDGs. Paper Presented at: The 2006 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America; 2006 March 30 - April 1; Los Angeles, California. p22.

Le TH, Ottosson E, Nguyen TKC, Kim BG, Allebeck P. Drug use and self-medication among children with respiratory illness or diarrhea in a rural district in Vietnam: a qualitative study. J Multidiscip Healthc. 2011;4:329-36.

Anderson C, Rolfe P, Brennan-Hunter A. Administration of over-the-counter medication to children at home--a survey of parents from community health centers. J Community Health Nurs. 2013;30(3):143-54.

Nydert P, Kimland E, Kull I, Lindemalm S. Over-the-counter drug use--estimations within the Swedish paediatric population. Eur J Pediatr. 2011;170(5):583-8.

Pavydė E, Veikutis V, Mačiulienė A, Mačiulis V, Petrikonis K, Stankevičius E. Public Knowledge, Beliefs and Behavior on Antibiotic Use and Self-Medication in Lithuania. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015;12(6):7002-16.

Downloads

Published

2016-12-24

How to Cite

Dhir, S. K., Jain, A., Batta, M., & Singh, G. (2016). Patterns and practice of self-medication among children presenting with acute respiratory tract infection or diarrhoea. International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology, 5(1), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20160097

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles