Self-medication among students in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences based on Health Belief Model

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of self-medication is high all over the world, especially in Iran. But there is a paucity of studies to explore self-medication activities among the university students. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the self-medication among student in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, based on Health Belief Model (HBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 197 medical students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences who were randomly chosen by a stratified random sampling method in 2009. The data were collected using a validated and reliable questionnaire based on HBM. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software (ver. 16). Descriptive and analytical statistics (independent t-test and test) were used. A two-tailed P value lower than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation of participants’ age was 22.00 ± 2.77 years. 67.3% of the sample consisted of females. The mean scores of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barrier were 80.36 ± 18.29, 40.92 ± 13.89, 61.48 ± 19.03, 59.11 ± 18.46, and 30.36 ± 12.40, respectively. According to the results, 84.98% of students had experienced self-medication at least for one disease during the past 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of self-medication in medical students is high and we can consider it as a health problem. So, we need educational interventions for the students, using HBM constructs.