Prevalence and determinants of self-medication practices among general population: A cross-sectional study in Thimphu, Bhutan and Chattogram, Bangladesh.

Autor:	Saha A; Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Asian University for Women, Chattogram, Bangladesh.; Disease Biology and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Zam D; Department of Public Health, Asian University for Women, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Khan AA; Department of Microbiology, Chittagong Medical College, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Dutta P; Disease Biology and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Chattogram, Bangladesh.; Department of Pharmacy, BGC Trust University Bangladesh, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Mannan A; Disease Biology and Molecular Epidemiology Research Group, Chattogram, Bangladesh.; Department of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh., Alam N; Department of Public Health, Asian University for Women, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Journal of public health research [J Public Health Res] 2023 Jan 26; Vol. 12 (1), pp. 22799036231152327. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jan 26 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI:	10.1177/22799036231152327
Abstrakt:	Background: Self-medication is a global phenomenon and a potential contributor to negative health consequences on human health including emergence of antibiotic drug resistance globally. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and determinants of self-medication in Thimphu, Bhutan and Chattogram, Bangladesh, two neighbouring South Asian country. Methodology: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the city of Thimphu, Bhutan and Chattogram, Bangladesh. A pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, health status and self-medication practices in the previous year. Results: Out of the 998 recruited participants, 61.8% (170/275) from Thimphu and 41.5% (300/723) from Chattogram reported self-medication practices in last year of interview. In Thimphu, eye/ear infection (90.9%), fever (84.9%), headache (80.5%) and cough and cold (78.2%) were the major illnesses reported for self-medication, whereas in Chattogram people mostly self-medicated for skin disorder (74.4%), diarrhoeal illness (59.1%) and eye/ear infection (48.1%). Knowledge on side-effects of the drugs taken for self-medication was comparatively higher in Thimphu than in Chattogram. Both in Thimphu and Chattogram, higher odds of self-medication were found for common illnesses with adjusted OR 7.8; 95% CI 3.3-18.4 and adjusted OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.4-2.8, respectively in Thimphu and Chattogram. Conclusion: Self-medication was found to be substantially high in both the cities, however, rate of self-medication was higher in Thimphu compared to Chattogram. Knowledge and awareness raising about harmful effect of self-medication and effective regulation over selling of prescription medication in pharmacies should be strengthened in both countries. Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. (© The Author(s) 2023.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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