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.