Self-Medication Practices among Undergraduate University Students in Northeast Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Inappropriate self-medication is a public-health problem worldwide. Major problems associated with self-medication include wastage of resources, increased resistance of pathogens, and adverse drug reactions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess self-medication practices and associated factors among undergraduate Wollo University students in Northeast Ethiopia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 341 undergraduate university students using a pretested and self-administered questionnaire from January to February 2019. Simple random sampling was used to select study participants. Data were collected using the self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 20. Multiple logistic regression was employed in data analysis, with P<0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-medication in this study was 64.98%. Mildness of disease (57, 34.13%) and dissatisfaction with health-care services, (44, 26.34%) were the main reasons for self-medication practice. The most common types of diseases for self-medication were headache (80, 47.9%), gastrointestinal infections (74, 44.31%), and respiratory tract infections (48, 28.74%). Analgesics (94, 56.28%) and antibiotics (60, 35.9%) were the leading classes of medicine used in self-medication. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that agriculture students (AOR 0.163, 95% CI 0.049–0.545) were 84% less likely to practice self-medication than medicine and health-science students. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that self-medication practices are common among study participants and significantly associated with their field of study. Awareness promotion on the risk of inappropriate self-medication for university students is highly recommended.