The future physicians of United Arab Emirates: how do they self-medicate.
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Date
2015-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Abstract
Background: Health professions have been a predictive factor for self-medication
(SM). SM practices of medical students, the future practitioners will have a bearing
on their impending professional practice. The aims were to identify prevalence and
practice of SM among the medical students of Gulf Medical University (GMU),
United Arab Emirates and to assess the associating factors.
Methods: The study was planned as a cross-sectional descriptive survey among
247 medical students of GMU. Students from 1st to 5th year were included in the
study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Associations were tested with
Chi-square test.
Results: SM with both over-the-counter medications and prescription-only medicines
was practiced by 65% of students. The prevalence of SM was associated with the
year of study and age. The most common sources of drugs were private pharmacies
and stocks at home. The students mostly relied on themselves and parents for drug
selection. The self-reliance significantly increased with year of study. Common
indications for SM were headache and flu symptoms and correspondingly, analgesics
and antipyretics were frequently used. A high prevalence of misuse of antibiotics
was also reported. SM was 2.9 times higher (95% CI=1.502-5.620) among students
belonging to families practicing SM.
Conclusion: The study revealed a fairly high rate of prevalence of SM among the
medical students of GMU, which was associated with age and year of study. There
is a need to emphasize responsible SM practices among the medical students by
accentuating rational drug use in the curricula.
Description
Keywords
Medical students, Self-medication, Prevalence, United Arab Emirates
Citation
Shehnaz Syed Ilyas, Khan Nelofer, Sreedharan Jayadevan, Arifulla Mohamed. The future physicians of United Arab Emirates: how do they self-medicate. International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology. 2015 Sep-Oct; 4(5): 876-883.