title: Self-medication among residents of urban resettlement colony, New Delhi.
abstract: A cross-sectional survey on the practice of self-medication was carried out in September 2005, among 1928 residents of urban resettlement colony in New Delhi. Prevalence of self-medication among those who had suffered some illness episode in the last one month was 31.3%. Head/ joint/body ache were the most common symptoms for which self-medication was practiced. Chemists were the main source of prescription for self-medication. Time and money factor were identified as the major reasons for not seeking doctor's advice and taking self-medication instead. It was of concern that about 87% users were not aware of side effects of self-medication.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi-110029.
authors.forename: Vivek
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goswami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anand
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000188:drug therapy; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*