Determinants of self-medication among undergraduate students of Bayero University Kano

Abstract

In Nigeria, most drugs can be obtained from pharmacies without a professional prescription, and despite the prevalence of self-medication, few comprehensive studies have been conducted to assess this practice. This study was carried out to evaluate the determinants of self-medication among undergraduate students of Bayero University Kano.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 384 undergraduate university students using a self-administered questionnaire from February to March 2024. Simple random sampling was used to select study participants. Data were collected using the self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 27. Chi-square test was employed in data analysis, with P<0.05 considered statistically significant.

The prevalence of self-medication within the study period was 52.6% among the respondents (54.9% among males and 50.0% among females). Results of the study further showed that being a medical student (p< 0.001), department of study (p < 0.001), level of parent education (p = 0.023) and the type of health insurance coverage (p = 0.006) were the significant factors shown to be associated with self-medication practice. Antimalaria (76.9%), antibiotics (60.2%) and analgesics (53.3%) were the most common drugs used in self-medication. Headache (69.2%), Malaria (63.4%), Cough and flu (44.5%) were the most common indication for self-medication among the students.

More than half of the respondents engage in self-medication, highlighting the necessity of raising public awareness on the subject. The weak enforcement of medicine regulations, as well as easy accessibility to prescription-only medicine, needs to be addressed by the appropriate authorities to prevent potential harm.