Self-medication and related factors among university students in Iran

Background and Purpose: Self-medication is a global medical issue, the rate of which has been reported to be on the rise in recent
years. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence rate of self-medication and the associated factors among the university students of
Ahvaz city, Iran.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Jundishapur and Shahid Chamran universities of Ahvaz, Iran
in 2015. In total, 680 university students were selected from 16 different medical and non-medical schools to participate in this study.
Using the easy sampling method, 45 students were selected from each school. Data collection tools included the socio-demographic
questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaires consisting of 12 items to evaluate self-medication. Data analysis was performed in
SPSS V.20 using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), independent T-test, and Chi-square test.
Results: In this study, prevalence rate of self-medication among the selected university students was 81.6%. The most frequent
medicines used by the students were adult cold (69.05%), analgesics (48.23%), and antibiotics (31.02%). Moreover, preventive factors
of self-medication among the subjects included family and friends (96.32%), lack of belief in the effectiveness of self-medication
(93.82%), and fear of the complications associated with self-medication (88.97%).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, university students had a positive attitude toward self-medication. Therefore, it
is recommended that the knowledge and attitude of these individuals be promoted through the implementation of related training
programs in order to reduce public tendency toward self-medication.