Longitudinal study of self-medication practices in 2nd year MBBS students through their internship
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20173296Keywords:
Adverse drug reactions, Medical students, Self-medicationAbstract
Background: Self-medication is common in medical students but few studies address the concern regarding knowledge of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among them. None of the study compares the practice of self-medication among the same medical students as their level of education increases. Hence the study was planned to compare the pattern, source, reason of self- medication and assess the level of awareness about potential ADRs to the consumed drugs in medical students during second year through their internship.
Methods: It was a longitudinal cross sectional questionnaire-based study conducted among under graduate second year MBBS students of a medical college and repeated during their internship few years later in order to avoid variability in questionnaire. Chi-square and Fischer’s exact test were used for testing statistical significance. p value less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results: 80 students were present on the day of study during their IInd MBBS and 73 students during their internship. Comparatively more students self-medicated during their internship than during their IInd MBBS (68% vs 55%). Analgesics (56.8% and 80%) were most commonly used. 35(70%) of interns were aware of potential ADRs and was statistically very significant in comparison to their awareness during IInd MBBS [9(20.45%)]. Interns rely more on themselves (96%) for self-medication.
Conclusions: The practice of self-medication begins early in the career of medical students and is carried forward into their future. Hence it is imperative to educate students regarding responsible self- medication very early in their curriculum.
References
World Health Organization: The role of the pharmacist in selfcare and self medication. Report of the 4th WHO consultative group on the role of the pharmacist. The Hague, 1998. Available at: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/pdf/whozip32e/whozip32e.pdf. Accessed on 2017 June 09.
Nalini GK. Self-Medication among Allopathic medical Doctors in Karnataka, India. BJMP 2010;3:325. Available at: http://www.bjmp.org/content/self-medication-among-allopathic-medical-doctors-karnataka-india.Accessed on 2017 June 09.
Montgomery AJ, Bradley C, Rochfort A, Panagopoulou E. A review of self-medication in physicians and medical students. Occup Med (Lond) 2011;61:497. Available at: http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/7/490.full.pdf .Accessed on 2017 June 09.
Hem E, Stokke G, Tyssen R, Gronvold NT, Vaglum P, Ekeberg O. Self-prescribing among young Norwegian doctors: a nine-year follow-up study of a nationwide sample. BMC Medicine; 2005:3:16. Available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/3/16 .Accessed on 2017 June 09.
Sontakke SD, Bajait CS, Pimpalkhute SA, Jaiswal KM, Jaiswal SR. Comparative study of evaluation of self-medication practices in first and third year medical students. Int J Biol Med Res 2011;2:561-64.
Burute SR, Burute RB, Murthy MB, Karande VB, Pore SM, Ramanand SJ. Awareness of adverse drug reactions in third M.B.B.S students practicing self-medication. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol. 2016;5:196-201.
James H, Handu SS, Al Khaja KA, Otoom S, Sequeria RP. Evaluation of the knowledge, attitude, and practice of self-medication among first-year medical students. Med Princ Pract. 2006;15:270-75.
Pandya RN, Jhaveri KS, Vyas FI, Patel VJ. Prevalence, pattern and perceptions of self-medication in medical students. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol. 2013;2:275-80.
Banerjee I, Bhadury T. Self-medication practice among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care medical college, West Bengal. J Postgrad Med. 2012;58:127-31.
Kumar N, Kanchan T, Unnikrishnan B, Rekha T, Mithra P, Kulkarni V, et al. Perceptions and practices of self-medication among medical students in coastal South India. PloS one. 2013 Aug 28;8(8):e72247.
Lukovic JA, Miletic V, Pekmezovic T, Trajkovic G, Ratkovic N, Aleksic D, et al. Self-medication Practices and Risk Factors for Self-Medication among Medical Students in Belgrade, Serbia. PloS one. 2014;9:e114644.
Badiger S, Kundapur R, Jain A, Kumar A, Patanashetty S, Thakolkaran N, et al. Selfmedication patterns among medical students in South India. AMJ 2012;5:217-20.
Lam CLK, Tse MHW, Munro C. A Study on the Practice of Self-Medication in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Pract. 1989;11:272-86.
Nattala P, Murthy P, Kandavel T, Cottler LB. Non-medical use of prescription drugs in Bangalore, India. Indian J Public Health. 2015;59:87-94.
Abasaeed A, Vlcek J, Abuelkhair M, Kubena A. Self-medication with antibiotics by the community of Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates. J Infect Dev Ctries. 2009;3:491-97.
Jaiswal S, Keche YN, Yegnanarayan R, Gajendra G, Chandanwale K, Lanke V, et al. Pattern self-medication use of analgesics in Pune, Maharashtra, India. Int J Res Med Sci. 2014;2:1092-96.
Mehta RK, Sharma S. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self-Medication among Medical Students. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science. 2015;4:89-96.
VD Phalke, DB Phalke, PM Durgawale. Self-Medication Practices in Rural Maharashtra. Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2006;31:34-5.
Roberts LW, Hardee JT, Franchini G, Stidley CA, Siegler M. Medical students as patients: a pilot study of their health care needs, practices, and concerns. Acad Med. 1996;71:1225-32.
