Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Over-the-Counter Medication Use; Among Selected Students at Sokoine University of Agriculture

Abstract

Every day, we are practicing self-medication (SM) with over-the-counter (OTC) drugs within the frame of self-care for our wellbeing. This study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices on OTC medication use among selected students at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS). A cross-sectional study was carried out at CVMBS, in Morogoro included veterinary students and non-veterinary students. A simple random sampling technique was used to select samples and the data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire with structured and open-ended questions. Data entry, cleaning, and analysis were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that the majority of the students 100 (64%) practice SM. Fever 69 (80.2%), emergency illness 46.0%, healthy facility charges 16.0%, distance to the health facility 12.0%, taking a long time of waiting for 11.0%, the proximity of the pharmacy shop 5.0%, no medicine in the health facilities 4.0%, 3.0% emergency illness and health facility charges, and emergency illness and takes a long time of waiting for 3.0%. The most commonly used OTC for SM in this study was painkillers (35%) and antibiotics (30%). The study revealed that community pharmacies were the major source of medicines for those who practiced SM with OTC drugs 67.0%, followed by medicines from relatives/friends 21.0%. The study also showed that there is optimal knowledge among CVMBS students, also study showed that most students have a negative attitude about SM where 38.0% strongly disagree and 37.0% disagree that SM can be practiced for all medicines. Malpractices were observed such as using remains from previous illnesses and using expired medications.