Knowledge and behavior of Saudi female university students toward self-medication: a cross-sectional study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Author(s):  
Sarah Al-Owaywid ◽  
Shereen Younes ◽  
Alhanouf Al-Humaidan ◽  
Lina Al-Enazi ◽  
Esraa Ghabban ◽  
...  
Author(s):  
Mohamed N. Al Arifi ◽  
Abdulrahman Alwhaibi

Objective: Fever alone can lead to rare serious complications in children, such as febrile seizures. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, beliefs, and behavior of parents toward fever and its management. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was applied over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2018, to parents who were living in Saudi Arabia. The inclusion criteria were a parent who is a resident of Saudi Arabia, with at least one child aged 6 years or less, while incomplete questionnaires, having a child aged more than 6 years, or parents who were not living in Saudi Arabia were excluded. Results: A total of 656 parents completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of the subjects were female, the majority of whom were aged between 25–33 years old. The best-reported place to measure the temperature of children was the armpit (46%), followed by the ear (28%) and the mouth (10.7%). More than half of the parents considered their children feverish at a temperature of 38 °C. The majority of parents (79.7%) reported that the most serious side effects of fever were seizure, brain damage (39.3%), coma (29.9%), dehydration (29.7%), and death (25%). The most common method used to measure a child’s temperature was an electronic thermometer (62.3%). The most common antipyretic was paracetamol (84.5%). Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the good knowledge of parents in identifying a feverish temperature using the recommended route and tools for measuring body temperature.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
M Zakirulla ◽  
AtheerA Al-Hammadi ◽  
NadaA Al-Rabai ◽  
RafiA Togoo ◽  
Ibrahim Alshahrani ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samman Chughtai

Self-medication is a common incidence in the world today. This study aims to evaluate self-medication among university students of Multan, Pakistan. This randomized cross sectional study was carried out in Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan during December 2015- January 216. A sample size of 200 students was randomly selected. Response rate was 90% (n=182).The prevalence of self-medication among the students was determined to be 83%. There was difference in perception of pharmacy students and students of other professions. Most common condition in which students did self-medication was headache (49.66%; n=75). Students also showed tendency of self-medication in case of herbal and essential oil products (46.35%). Awareness concerning insecurity and benefits of self-medication must be spread among students to avoid the complications of self-medication. 


2021 ◽  
pp. postgradmedj-2020-139618
Author(s):  
Nouf A AlShamlan ◽  
Reem S AlOmar ◽  
Abdullah Zuhair Al-Sahow ◽  
Abeer A AlShamlan ◽  
Bayan Mohammed Almir ◽  
...  

Purpose of the studyTo assess the attitudes and acceptance of cosmetic surgeries and procedures among undergraduate university students in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, as well as the barriers against having cosmetic surgeries and procedures.Study designA cross-sectional study of undergraduate university students in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, during October 2020. The research instrument included the Attitudes towards Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS), sociodemographic data and perceived barriers towards cosmetic surgeries and procedures. A bivariate analysis was performed followed by a linear regression to account for confounders.ResultsA total of 1240 students participated in the study. The mean ACSS for cosmetic surgeries was 3.14 (±1.37 SD), and 3.25 (±1.49 SD) for cosmetic procedures. Older students, students with a history of previous cosmetic surgeries/procedures, and students with engineering specialties had more acceptance scores in both cosmetic surgeries and procedures. On the other hand, men, students belonging to a middle family income and students who perceived themselves to be aware of the risk associated with cosmetic surgeries/procedures had less acceptance scores. The most reported barrier to have cosmetic surgeries and procedures among students was feeling that they do not need it.ConclusionThe findings from the current study could help dermatologists, plastic surgeons and adolescent specialists wishing to recognise the rising interest in cosmetic surgeries and procedures in Arabic youth populations, the possible associated factors, as well as the barriers to have these surgeries and procedures. A further qualitative in-depth study to explore the acceptance is suggested.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1249-1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdelmoneim I Awad ◽  
Idris B Eltayeb

Background: In many developing countries, up to 60–80% of health problems are self-medicated. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics and/or antimalarials and identify factors promoting such use among university students in Sudan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed, using a pretested questionnaire on a sample of 1300 students selected from 5 universities in Khartoum State, Sudan. Results: Eight hundred ninety-one (79.5%; 95% CI 77.0 to 81.8) students from the study population had used antibiotics or antimalarials without a prescription within 1–2 months prior to the study. Four hundred ninety (55%; 95% CI 51.7 to 58.3) of the respondents stated that they had used antibiotics, 39 (4.4%; 95% CI 3.2 to 6.0) had used antimalarials, and 362 (40.6%; 95% CI 37.4 to 43.9) had used both. Overall, self-medication with antibiotics or antimalarials was significantly more common among students 21 years of age or older compared with those 20 years of age or younger (OR 1.55; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.09; p = 0.004) and among students attending private universities compared with those attending public universities (OR 1.42; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.95; p = 0.028). Self-medication with antibiotics followed a simitar pattern, which was significantly more common among students 21 years of age or older (OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.81; p = 0.03) and private university respondents (OR 1.52; 95% CI 1.15 to 2.02; p = 0.003). Self-medication with antimalarials was found to be significantly less common among females (OR 0.76; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.97; p = 0.028) and higher among the 21 years or older age group (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.42 to 2.40; p < 0.001), The most common reason indicated for self-medication was the respondents’ previous experiences with similar ailments. The main source of drugs was community pharmacies. Conclusions: The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics/antimalarials among undergraduate university students in Khartoum State is high. Our findings highlight the need for planning interventions to promote the judicious use of antibiotics/antimicrobials.


2021 ◽  
Vol Volume 14 ◽  
pp. 2191-2200
Author(s):  
Walaa Ahmed Khairy ◽  
Hebatallah A Nasser ◽  
Mai D Sarhan ◽  
Aliaa Ali El Shamy ◽  
Yasmine Samir Galal

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. em289
Author(s):  
M. Anwar Hossain ◽  
Md. Hasanul Banna Siam ◽  
Ashik Imran ◽  
Md. Belayet Hasan Limon ◽  
Mehedi Hasan Zahid ◽  
...  

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramazan Azim Okyay ◽  
Ayşegül Erdoğan

BackgroundSelf-medication refers to the use of medicines to treat self-diagnosed diseases without consulting any healthcare professionals. Irrational drug use and self-medication have serious negative consequences both on health and economy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the habits related to rational use of drugs (RUD) and to estimate the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Kahramanmaraş. From May 2017 to June 2017 a total of 960 students filled a “Rational Use of Drugs Questionnaire”.ResultsThe prevalence of practicing self-medication in students was 63.4%. The most common medicines that the students had consumed without prescription were analgesics by 39.5%, antibiotics by 36.9% and cold remedies by 24.0%. The rate of students who declared that they were familiar with RUD and “rational use of antibiotics” (RUA) was 45.9%. Reading/checking the instructions in the prospectus (OR = 1.529, 95% CI [1.176–1.990]), understanding the context of the prospectus (OR = 1.893, 95% CI [1.387–2.584]), compliance with the duration of antibiotic treatment (OR = 1.597, 95% CI [1.231–2.071]) and consulting a physician in case of a side effect (OR = 1.350, 95% CI [1.037–1.757]) were significantly higher among students who were familiar with RUD as compared to who were not.DiscussionSince the awareness of RUD among university students was found to be inadequate, it has critical importance to hold educational activities with the cooperation of physicians, health organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations and media to avoid negative consequences of irrational drug use and self-medication.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document