Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude of Pharmaceutical Students Around Self-medication, Common Medicines and DPIC

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of pharmaceutical students around self-medication, common medicines and Drug and Poison Information Center (DPIC) for the first time. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 204 pharmaceutical students. Data were collected using questionnaire including socio-demographic questions, general and specialized information about Drugs, DPIC, and drugs side effects. All analysis conducted using the SPSS 16.0 software. Results: Of the total 204 participants, 93(45.6%) respondents were males and 111(54.4%) of them were females by the mean age of 22.05 (±1.5). More than half of the respondents (52%) had no information about DPIC and its functions. Approximately 44% of students have a consultation with a pharmacist for drug use. Averagely, only 39.88% of students had suitable drugs information. Significant relationship was observed between age and medicine consultation (P = 0.025). Conclusion: This study showed that the pharmaceutical students had a poor knowledge about the prevalence of using different drugs and DPIC’s functions. Country's medical system is still facing the problem of uncontrolled usage and also a lack of knowledge, so it is recommended to perform comprehensive studies for finding factors that effect on students’ awareness to improve their academic performance.