Page 76 - JCTR-10-1

Journal of Clinical and Translational Research 2024; 10(1): 72-77

Journal of Clinical and Translational Research

Journal homepage: http://www.jctres.com/en/home

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Self-medication practice and associated factor among adult household

members in Gurage Zone, Southern Ethiopia, Ethiopia, 2022: a
cross-sectional study

Tadesse Sahle Adeba *, Fantahun Walle , Tamirat Melis , Ayenew Mose 3
1
2
1
1 Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia Department of Public Health, College of
2
Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia Department of Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Science, Wolkite
3
University, Wolkite, Ethiopia
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article history: Background: Self-medication refers to the use of medicinal products by the consumers to treat self-
Received: August 10, 2023 recognized disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of medication is not prescribed
Accepted: January 03, 2024 by a physician for chronic or recurring diseases or symptoms. Globally, the prevalence of self-
Published online: February 6, 2024 medication is estimated to be around 27 – 99.4% according to different studies.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess self-medication practice and associated
Keywords: factors among adult household members of Gubre town from April 28 to June 27, 2022. Data collection
Assessment from 399 households was conducted by means of a systematic random sampling technique using a
Associated factor pre-tested questionnaire.
Ethiopia Result: Among 398 respondents, 113 (28.4%) of them were found to practice self-medication. Two
Self-medication hundred and forty-three (61.05%) participants reported to have fallen sick in the 2 weeks before
the survey. Being married (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.599, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09
*Corresponding author: – 2.621), being literate (AOR = 1.672, 95% CI: 1.032 – 2.01), perceiving self-medication as an
Tadesse Sahle Adeba acceptable practice (AOR = 1.652, 95% CI: 1.32 – 1.887), peer influence (AOR = 1.54, 95% CI: 1.304
Wolkite University Department of Nursing, – 2.321), and access to medical information (AOR = 1.452, 95% CI: 1.263 – 1.570) were significantly
College of Medicine and Health Science, associated with self-medication practice.
Wolkite University, Wolkite, Ethiopia Conclusion: Nearly a quarter of the study participants practice self-medication. Being married, being
Email: tadessesahle528@gmail.com literate, perceiving self-medication as an acceptable practice, peer influence, and access to medical
information were significantly associated with self-medication practice.
© 2024 Author(s). This is an Open-Access Relevance for Patients: Tailored interventions designed by policymakers, program designer, and
article distributed under the terms of the implementers should aim to reduce or eliminate non-prescribed drug use among the community
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial through the education on the impact of self-medication on individual health.
License, permitting all non-commercial use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
1. Introduction

Self-medication refers to the use of medicinal products by the consumers to treat self-
recognized disorders or symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of medication
that is not prescribed by a physician for chronic or recurring diseases or symptoms [1].
Alternatively, such practice is also defined by many authors as the utilization of medicines
by a patient on his initiative or on the recommendation of a non-professional or a layperson
instead of seeking advice from a health-care provider [2,3].
Self-medication is a commonly employed practice in an attempt to treat a perceived
illness [4]. The type or extent of self-medication and the reasons for it may vary from

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/jctr.00098