title: Evaluation of self-medication amongst university students in Abbottabad, Pakistan; prevalence, attitude and causes.
abstract: Self-medication is a serious issue in most parts of the world. This study aims to evaluate self-medication among university students of Abbottabad, Pakistan. This cross-sectional survey study was carried out in COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad during December 1 - December 31,2011. A sample of 275 students was selected for the study using convenience method of sampling. Data were managed and analyzed via SPSS version 16.0. Inferences were drawn using Z-test Out of 268 respondents (male = 61.6%, female = 38.6%), 138 were non-health professional students whereas 130 were health professional students. The prevalence of self-medication was 95.5%. Most common factor (45.7%) responsible for self-medication was "low severity of disease". Most common symptom (50.8%) that caused self-medication and stocking of medicines was "storage of medicines for multi purposes". Some respondents (22.7%) got addicted due to self-medication. Most of the students trust in allopathic medicines system. High prevalence of self-medication can be controlled through regulatory authorities, mass education and availability of health facilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Hanif
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ullah
authors.forename: Shujaat A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Sayyad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Sabiha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baseer
authors.forename: Ossam
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chohan
authors.forename: Syed M F
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Kashif M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murtaza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult