scholarly journals Self-medication practices in urban and rural areas of western India: a cross sectional study

Author(s):  
Dnyanesh Limaye ◽  
Vaidehi Limaye ◽  
Gerhard Fortwengel ◽  
Gerard Krause

Background: Concerns about practice of self-medication (SM) world across are based on associated risks such as adverse reactions, disease masking, increased morbidity, wastage of resources and antibiotic resistance. SM is likely to differ between rural and urban areas of India. Systematically retrieved evidence on these differences are required in order to design targeted measures for improvement.Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study among the general population in urban (Matunga) and rural (Tala) areas of Maharashtra, India to explore SM practices and its associated factors. Face to face interviews were conducted using the validated study questionnaire. Data was analyzed by using descriptive and analytical statistical methods.Results: A total of 1523 inhabitants from 462 households were interviewed between [June/2015] and [August /2015], 778 (51%) of them in rural and 745 (49%) in urban areas. Overall self-medication prevalence was 29.1% (urban; 51.5%, rural; 7.7%, OR 12.7, CI 9.4-17.2) in the study participants. Participants having chronic disease (OR: 3.15, CI: 2.07-4.79) and from urban areas (OR:15.38, CI:8.49-27.85) were more likely to self-medicate. Self-medication practices were characterized by having old prescription (41.6%) as the main reason, fever (39.4%) as top indication and NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Agents) as the most self-medicated category of drugs (40.7%).Conclusions: The present study documented that the prevalence of self-medication is associated with place of residence, and health status of the study participants. Self-medication is still a major issue in western Maharashtra, India and is majorly an urban phenomenon. Status of implementation of existing regulations should be reconsidered. 

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-42
Author(s):  
Suyanto Suyanto ◽  
Shashi Kandel ◽  
Rahmat Azhari Kemal ◽  
Arfianti Arfianti

This study assesses the status of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among coronavirus survivors living in rural and urban districts in Riau province, Indonesia. The cross-sectional study was conducted among 468 and 285 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) survivors living in rural and urban areas, respectively in August 2021. The St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to measure the HRQOL of COVID-19 survivors. A higher total score domain corresponds to worse quality of life status. Quantile regression with the respect to 50th percentile found a significant association for the factors living in rural areas, being female, having comorbidities, and being hospitalized during treatment, with total score of 4.77, 2.43, 7.22, and 21.27 higher than in their contra parts, respectively. Moreover, having received full vaccination had the score 3.96 in total score. The HRQOL of COVID-19 survivors living in rural areas was significantly lower than in urban areas. Factors such as living in rural areas, female sex, having comorbidities, and history of symptomatic COVID-19 infection were identified as significant predictors for lower quality of life. Meanwhile, having full vaccination is a significant predictor for a better quality of life. The results of this study can provide the targeted recommendations for improvement of HRQOL of COVID-19 survivors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 1638-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ragini Alok ◽  
Ragini Srivastava ◽  
Puneet Kumar ◽  
Siddharth K. Das ◽  
Girdhar G. Agarwal ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Marzà-Florensa ◽  
Daniel Boateng ◽  
Charles Agyemang ◽  
Erik Beune ◽  
Karlijn A. C. Meeks ◽  
...  

Objectives: Multimorbidity is a growing public health concern due to the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, yet information about multimorbidity in low- and middle-income countries and migrant populations is scarce. We aimed to investigate the distribution and patterns of multimorbidity in rural and urban areas in Ghana and Ghanaian migrants in Europe.Methods: The RODAM cross-sectional study included 4,833 participants. Multimorbidity was defined as presence of multiple non-communicable chronic conditions. Patterns were determined from frequent combination of conditions. Prevalence ratios were estimated by logistic regression.Results: Prevalence of multimorbidity was higher in women and in urban Ghana and Europe. We observed a cardiometabolic pattern in all sites as well as circulatory-musculoskeletal and metabolic-musculoskeletal combinations in Ghana. Multimorbidity prevalence ratios were higher in Europe (men 1.47, 95% CI 1.34–1.59, women 1.18, 1.10–1.26) and urban Ghana (men 1.46, 1.31–1.59, women 1.27, 1.19–1.34).Conclusion: Distribution and patterns of multimorbidity differed by sex and site. With a higher burden of multimorbidity in urban areas, prevention strategies should focus on forestalling its increase in rapidly growing rural areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-27
Author(s):  
Dr. Chimata Triveni ◽  
◽  
Dr. Tirumuru Divya ◽  
Dr. Ponna Rama Devi ◽  
Dr. N. Lakshmi Chowdary ◽  
...  

Introduction: Visual impairment affects students’ routine schoolwork and day-to-day activities.Hence, the aim is to study the prevalence of various refractive errors and their comparison amongschool children of 5-15 years in rural and urban areas. Methods: This cross-sectional studyexamined 998 students from both rural and urban schools. After obtaining ethical clearance andinformed consent, students were examined for refractive errors. The students with the refractiveerror were given a socio-demographic questionnaire and questionnaire regarding their usage oftelevision, computer, and family history of refractive errors. A Chi-square test was used to test thestatistical significance of proportions. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant, anddata were analyzed by using coGuide software, V.1.03 Results: The prevalence of refractive errorwas found to be 6.41 %, with a prevalence of 7.61% in urban and 5.21% in rural areas. Thedifference in the type of refractive error between the study groups was found to be insignificant,with P= 0.897. Conclusion: Prevalence of refractive errors was more in urban school children thanrural. Refractive error was more prevalent in 13-15 years age group in both rural and urban schoolchildren. The most common refractive error was myopia, followed by astigmatism andhypermetropia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ayaz Sabri ◽  
Muhammad Ahad Qayyum ◽  
Naif Usman Saigol ◽  
Khurram Zafar ◽  
Fawad Aslam

A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the awareness of diabetes mellitus among rural and urban diabetics. After analyzing the awareness level of both populations, the urban diabetics were found to be more educated about diabetes. A 25-question survey was used to judge the awareness level of diabetes mellitus. A total of 240 diabetics were surveyed, 120 each from rural and urban areas. The mean awareness among the rural population was 13 (SD± 2) correct answers out of a possible 25. Similarly, in the case of the urban diabetics the mean awareness was 18 (SD± 2) correct answers. The survey was conducted on randomly chosen diabetics belonging to Lahore and Faisalabad, (urban areas), as well as Habibabad, Haveli Koranga and Baba Kanwal (rural areas). The results emphasize the interrelation between demography and awareness of diabetes mellitus. The rural diabetics are far less knowledgeable about diabetes mellitus, its management and its complications. Thus, there is an urgent need to improve the awareness level of diabetes mellitus in rural areas. Doing so will give rise to a healthier workforce and a lessened economic burden on Pakistan.


Author(s):  
Sanskruti J. Patel ◽  
Gurusharan H. Dumra

Background: Self-medication is termed as administration of medications by care-givers without medical consultation. It includes several forms through which the individual themselves or the ones responsible for them decide, without medical evaluation, which drug they will use and in which way for the symptomatic relief and cure of a condition. Objectives of the study was to estimate the overall prevalence of parents induced self-medication, to identify the most commonly used drugs and the reasons of self-medications in rural and urban areas of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.Methods: This is community based observational cross sectional study was conducted over a period of four months in urban and rural areas of district Ahmedabad under the field practice area of AMC MET Medical College and Sheth LG General Hospital, district Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The study population included children from 5-15 years. The data was collected from the care giver/parents of the children through a pre-validated questionnaire.Results: Prevalence of self-medication was 86.14%. Most common illness for which self- medication was done was fever in 84 children (22.16%) followed by acidity in 72 children (18.99%). Commonly used drugs were antipyretics, antibiotics and oral rehydration therapy. Previous prescription was used by most of them to procure the drugs and previous experience on efficacy was the most common reason cited.Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of parents induced self-medication is quite high. There is a need to strengthen public education regarding self- medication, by mass media and local government authorities.


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