Pattern of self-medication for acute febrile illness in the outpatient clinic of an urban tertiary hospital in Jos.

Abstract

Background: Fever is a symptom of many diseases irrespective of age, sex, etc. Self medication for acute febrile illness is increasing in scope and content globally, often with severe consequences. Knowledge of the pattern of self medication for acute febrile illness can help to streamline and profer solutions to irresponsible and dangerous practices. The study set out to determine the forms and factors affecting self medication for acute febrile illness at the General Out-Patient Department (GOPD) of Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH), Jos.
Methods: It was a cross-sectional study at the GOPD of BHUTH, Jos from October 2012 to February 2013. The participants were drawn from all patients with fever or history of fever of not more than two weeks duration at presentation. Data was collected with interviewer-administered structured questionaire and analysed with the Statistical Programme for Social Science (SPSS), version 21.