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Hayam Ali AlRasheed^* , Khlood Mohammad Aldossary^✉

1. Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Self-medication is a global public health problem, particularly among University students at the beginning of their careers. This study aims to determine awareness and attitude toward self-medication practices among Foundation Year - Health Science Students at PNU in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We conducted a cross-sectional survey using convenient sampling techniques to identify study participants. After obtaining written consent, we emailed them an online questionnaire that included information on sociodemographics, knowledge, students' awareness of self-medication, and reasons for self-medication. We computed means and standard deviations to report continuous variables, frequencies, and proportions to report categorical variables, which were analyzed by Excel software. The mean age and body mass index were 19.17 ±2.23 and 22.91±4.25, respectively. About 75% of the students mentioned they had used self-medication in the past. One-third of respondents mentioned that self-medication can cause harm, and 58.8% mentioned that self-medication can cause harm sometimes. The most common resource for self-medication was pharmacy stores, followed by families and friends. The most common reasons to self-medicate were multiple, including economical, saving time, convenience, quick relief of the symptoms, no availability of a medical service, and minor illness. The reasons reported by students were multiple, including common cold, headache, fever, and dysmenorrhea, followed by insomnia. The burden of self-medication is alarming among university students, with about three-fourths of them reporting using drugs to self-medicate. These findings can help policymakers and university administrators raise awareness among students about the negative impact of medications on their lives‎.

Keywords: Self-medication, Knowledge, Practice, University students, Saudi Arabia, Survey

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