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Adeba et al. | Journal of Clinical and Translational Research 2024; 10(1): 72-77 75
Table 3. Self-medication practice among adult household members of in Jimma town (27.6%); this discrepancy was probably attributed
Gubre town, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia to the higher accessibility of medical information in towns like
Variables Self‑medication Total Jimma than in rural areas [20-22].
Yes No frequency The most common illnesses that led to self-medication in
Number (%) Number (%) Number (%) this study, such as headache, common cold, and fever, were also
Sex reported in northwestern Ethiopia, Ayder campus of Mekele
Male 37 (31.6%) 80 (68.4%) 117 (29.4%) University. Half of the ill people who had headaches and
Female 76 (27.0%) 205 (73.0%) 281 (70.6%) abdominal pain sought medical help, suggesting that headaches
Age and abdominal pain are important signals that make patients visit
18 – 24 20 (20.8%) 76 (79.2%) 96 (24.1%) health facilities. Thus, the type of illness is a contributing factor to
25 – 34 28 (25.9%) 80 (74.1%) 108 (27.1%) the patient’s response toward their illness [5,21,22].
35 – 44 35 (31.0%) 78 (69.0%) 113 (28.4%) In this study, some of the most common reasons for the practice
45 – 54 14 (34.1%) 27 (65.9%) 41 (10.3%) of self-medication were the previous experience with similar
>55 16 (45.7%) 24 (54.3%) 40 (10.1%) ailments, emergency care, and milder illnesses. The rationale is
Religion almost similar to a previous study conducted in the Ayder campus
Orthodox 63 (31.8%) 135 (68.2%) 198 (49.7%) of Mekele University, but another study conducted in Jima
Muslim 35 (22.7%) 119 (77.3%) 154 (38.7%) regarded the low cost of practicing self-medication as the main
Protestants 14 (38.9%) 22 (61.1%) 36 (9.0%) reason [17,21,22].
Catholic 1 (10.0%) 9 (90.0%) 10 (2.5%) Analgesics (paracetamol), anti-helminths, and anti-microbial
Marital status were the most commonly used class of drug, because common
Single 27 (29.7%) 64 (70.3%) 91 (22.9%) cold and headache are the most common symptoms reported by
Married 70 (26.0%) 199 (74.0%) 269 (67.6%) respondents, and they obtained over-the-counter paracetamol
Divorced 2 (28.6%) 5 (71.4%) 7 (1.8%) for self-medication purposes. This rate was almost similar to a
Widowed 14 (45.2%) 17 (54.8%) 31 (7.8%) previous study in six Latin America countries and the Mekele
Ethnicity University study [21,23]. Most of the drugs mentioned in this
Gurage 98 (28.6%) 245 (71.4%) 343 (86.2%) study were over-the-counter drugs and leftover drugs in the house,
Oromo 3 (18.8%) 13 (81.3%) 16 (4.0%) a finding almost similar to that reported in northwest Ethiopia,
Amhara 6 (40.0%) 9 (60.0%) 15 (3.8%) Amhara, and Jimma [5,21,22,24].
Other 6 (25.0%) 18 (75.0%) 24 (5.0%) Marital status was found to be significantly associated with self-
Education status medication practice. Married respondents were about 1.6 times
Illiterate 20 (25.6%) 58 (74.4%) 78 (19.6%) more likely to adopt self-medication as compared to single
Read and write 26 (35.1%) 48 (64.9%) 74 (18.6%) respondents (AOR = 1.099, 95% CI: 1.09 – 2.621). Respondents
Elementary (1 – 8) 30 (39.5%) 46 (60.5%) 76 (19.1%) who were widowed were about 1.06 times more likely to adopt
Secondary (9 – 12) 26 (21.8%) 93 (78.2%) 119 (29.9%)
Higher (12+) 11 (21.6%) 40 (78.4%) 51 (12.8%) self-medication as compared to respondents who were single
Occupation (AOR = 1.055, 95% CI: 1.001 – 1.922). In addition, educational
Employed 59 (22.4%) 205 (77.6%) 264 (65.4%) status was found in significant association with self-medication
Non-employed 54 (40.3%) 80 (59.7%) 134 (33.6%) practice. Literate respondents were 1.67 times more likely to self-
Monthly income medicate than those who were illiterate (AOR = 1.672, 95% CI:
<1500 46 (28.4%) 116 (71.6%) 162 (40.7%) 1.032 – 2.01), a result similar to a study conducted in Somaliland
1500 – 5000 66 (29.2%) 160 (70.8%) 226 (56.8%) in Borama district, which also showed that self-medication is
>5000 1 (10.0%) 9 (90.0%) 10 (2.5%) significantly associated with educational status. This phenomenon
Thinking about can be explained by the ability of literate people, who are also
self-medication of good socioeconomic standing, to access information on drug
A good practice 93 (41.7%) 227 (58.3%) 320 (80.4%) use and to purchase drugs from pharmacies. Similarly, a study
Not an acceptable practice 20 (3.9%) 58 (96.1%) 78 (19.6%) conducted in Nigeria also showed that there was an association

Peer influence on between self-medication practices and educational status[20].
self-medication Thinking about self-medication was found to significantly
Yes 70 (26.9%) 190 (73.1%) 260 (65.3%) contribute to the practicing of self-medication. Respondents
No 43 (31.2%) 95 (68.8%) 138 (34.7%) who thought that self-medication is an acceptable practice were
about 1.65 times more likely to self-medicate as compared to
Our study showed that the prevalence of self-medication respondents who thought that self-medication was not acceptable
was 28.4%. However, this rate was lower than those reported (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.32 – 1.887). A plausible reason is that
in previous studies: 48% in Khartoum state, Sudan and 43.24% they think self-medication does not negatively impact health.
in Ayder campus of Mekele University. The prevalence of self- Peer influence was also found to be significantly associated
medication practice in our study was greater than that of a study with self-medication. Respondents who had peer influence were
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/jctr.00098