Self-Medication Trends in Saudi Households by the Pharmacist: A Questionnaire Survey among Community Pharmacist in Jeddah Province, Saudi Arabia
Author(s): Abdulaziz Alrabat*, Eman El Wakeel, Sirajudeen Anwar, Atef H Aljahdaly, Fahad H Aljahdali, Sultan Alamri, Sara Alsubhi, Salman Almalki and Sultan Shamma
Abstract
Introduction: Self-medication is defined as the selection and use of medications by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms also it is defined as drugs that are safe and effective for use by the general public without seeking treatment by a health professional. Objectives: Aim of this work is to study pharmacist’s attitude of community pharmacies towards self-medication. (2) To assess and summarize their opinion on consumer’s awareness of medicines and self-medication practice and OTC medicine advertisements in Jeddah province, Saudi Arabia. And (3)To estimate the prevalence of Self -Medication Trends in Saudi Households and consumers who consult Community Pharmacist in Jeddah province, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: A questionnaire-based study was conducted on 200 random pharmacies in Jeddah, KSA. The pharmacists were asked to recall their encounter with patients with illnesses who visited their pharmacies for medications without prescriptions. Data were collected from May to September 2018. This was a prospective cross-sectional survey conducted in Jeddah province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Community pharmacies within 5 areas of the city (North, South, West, East, and Middle) were randomly selected and the study was conducted over 4months in 2018. Every 10 pharmacies from the 5 regions were selected. Results: The prevalence of the practice of self-medication was high among the age group of 30 – 39 years but lower in the 50-59 and ≥ 60 year age groups, Males exhibited higher prevalence of self-medication than females, which might be due to social factors. Graduates practices self-medication was at higher rate and doctorates exhibited low prevalence of self-medication practices may be due to literary distribution size. Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication was high among the predominantly well-educated residents in Jeddah area, despite majority being aware of its harmful effects. Self- medication was largely preferred that among the respondents because of its time and cost effectiveness.