Study of Self-medication among First and Seventh Semester Medical and Dental Undergraduate Students of Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Nepal: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Although appropriate self-medication can ease minor illness and is time and cost-effective, it can lead to irrational drug use and increased resistance, leading to prolonged morbidity. Inclined towards medical information and drug indices, medical students have an open arena for self-medication practice. This study was conducted to find the prevalence of self-medication among first and seventh semester medical and dental students in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical and dental undergraduates from July 2020 to August 2020 after receiving ethical clearance from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (IRC Approval Number: 35/20). A questionnaire was responded to by participants through a google form. Participants were enrolled through the convenience sampling method. Data were collected and entered in Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. RESULTS: Out of 199 respondents, the prevalence of self-medication was 100 (50.3%) (46.76-53.84 at 95% Confidence Interval). First semester medical 36 (73.5%) and dental undergraduates 24 (80%) had higher practice. Seventh-semester medical students 14 (51.9%) usually self-medicated within one day of onset of symptoms. Headache 47 (47%) was the most common indication. Analgesics 62 (62%) were most commonly used drugs procured most commonly from pharmacies 114 (57.3%). Dosage form was drug selection criteria for 120 (60.3%) students. CONCLUSIONS: Since self-medication is crammed with serious health hazards, proper exposure to the topic should be given to medical, dental students, and pharmacists. The implication of self-medication into the pharmacology syllabus is a must.