title: Self-medication among school students.
abstract: Self-medication, usually with over-the-counter (OTC) medication, is reported as a community health problem that affects many people worldwide. Most self-medication practice usually begins with the onset of adolescence. A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Mafraq Governorate, Jordan, using a simple random sampling method to select 6 public schools from a total of 34 schools. The total sample consisted of 422 school students from Grades 7 through 12. Measures of central tendency and χ(2) were used to compare the difference between the categorical variables. The prevalence of self-medication among the participants was 87.0%. Nearly 75% of self-medication was used for pain relief. The prevalence of self-medication among school students is very high and increases with age. School nurses and other local health-care workers must coordinate with school principals to disseminate health education campaigns about safe use of medication to provide awareness and education to school students, parents, and families.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Community Health Nursing, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan mohammadbash@aabu.edu.jo.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ALBashtawy
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Adult Health Nursing, Philadelphia University, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Abdul-Monim
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Batiha
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Adult Health Nursing, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan.
authors.forename: Loai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tawalbeh
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Adult Health Nursing, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tubaishat
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Al al-Bayt University, Al-Mafraq, Jordan.
authors.forename: Manar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: AlAzzam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000067697:Adolescent Health; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D008297:Male; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D012651:Self Medication / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004366:Nonprescription Drugs
keywords: adolescent health; analgesic use; community health; drugs; school nurse; school students; self-medication