Role of Sensitization and Awareness Program on Knowledge, Attitude, Views, and Practice of Self-Medication Among MBBS Students in a Medical College of Bihar

Aims Self-medication is an essential component of self-care; however, its use has significantly increased. Its practice has many risks such as wrong diagnosis, adverse drug reactions, antimicrobial resistance, etc. Being future doctors, self-medication has a special impact on MBBS students. Henceforth, the present study was undertaken to sensitize MBBS students in a medical college in Bihar and to analyze its role in different aspects of self-medication. Methods and material This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study. The questionnaire was circulated to MBBS students of all the phases. After collecting the responses, scoring and grading was done and then a sensitization and awareness program was conducted through different modes and medium. After three months the same questionnaire was distributed, and their response was again collected. Statistical analysis used With an expected 40% prevalence, the minimum sample size needed to attain a power of 95% and an alpha value of 0.05 was calculated to be 201. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16 was used for data analysis. The chi-square test was used to see the association in responses obtained, before and after sensitization. A P-value with ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The questionnaires were circulated among 439 students. On comparing the grades, we found that phase III students comparatively had better knowledge regarding different aspects of self-medication. On analyzing different aspects of self-medication, we found that there was a significant improvement in many aspects post-sensitization. Conclusions MBBS students are future doctors, hence they should be more educated about the pros and cons of self-medication. This study showed that the perception of participants improved after our educational activities. We hope that after becoming aware, these young budding doctors will spread awareness, which, in turn, will benefit society. Additionally, we hope that this study will have an impact on students from different medical colleges and even healthcare providers, promoting responsible self-medication practices when necessary.