A Study on Self Medication Practices During Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Self Medication(SM) “involves the use of medicinal products by the consumer to treat self recognized disorders
or symptoms, or the intermittent or continued use of a medication prescribed by a physician for chronic or
recurring diseases or symptoms”. The objective of this study was to determine practices of Self Medication. The
present study was conducted in the field practice areas of the Department of Community Medicine, Jawaharlal
Nehru Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, from August 2021 to July 2022. It was a community
based cross-sectional study.A total of 424 people was included.Simple Random Sampling was done. Individuals
≥18 years of age from families of RHTC and UHTC,those who experienced an episode of illness after start of
Covid-19 pandemic and those who gave consent were included in the study. Patients who were bed-ridden and/
or suffering from mental illness and those who did not give consent were excluded from the study. Data entry
and analysis was done in IBM SPSS v 26.0. Relevant statistical tests were applied wherever required. Nearly
half of the study population practised Self Medication as a form of treatment at least once in the preceding 12
months.The major source of information for the choice, dosage and duration of the medicines consumed for Self
Medication in our study was found to be the pharmacist ( 69.0%). It was followed by prior experience (31.0%) and
previous prescription (15.2%). In our study analgesics and antipyretics were found to be consumed by the highest
percentage of study participants. People should be made aware of the risks of Self Medication and should be
guided on responsible Self Medication. Awareness campaigns may be organised in this regard