Self-Medication Phenomenon; A Population Based Study from Lahore (original) (raw)

2019, JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association

OBJECTIVE To study the reasons of self-medication in rural and urban population.. METHODS The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from March to August 2017, and comprised inhabitants of rural and urban areas of the city regardless of gender and aged 18-50 years. The subjects were enrolled using non probability convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, which was validated through content validity index. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. RESULTS Of the 786 participants, 551(70%) were from the urban areas and 235(30%) were from the rural areas. The mean age of the sample was 30.54±8.50. Overall, 746(95%) were taking medicines without a prescription. Among them, 528(96%) were urban and 218(93%) were rural inhabitants (p<0.07). Besides, 352(47.2%) were males and 394(52.8%) were females (p>0.05). The most frequent reason cited for self-medication was quick relief by 478(64.1%) subjects. CONCLUSIONS Self-...