Tabari Biomedical Student Research Journal

Background & Objectives: Self-medication is one of the major social and health
problems in Iran and other parts of the world, the prevalence of which is on a
growing trend. Herein, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication
and its related factors among students of Medicine and Paramedicine faculties of
Ramsar, Iran, in 2015.
Materials & Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out
in 456 students of Medicine and Paramedicine faculties of Ramsar, Iran. The
relevant data was gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire and analyzed in
SPSS, version 19, using Chi-square test.
Results: In the current study, the rate of self-medication was estimated at 51.3%
(51.5% and 50.9% in male and female students, respectively). Most of the used
medications by the target population were painkillers (49.6 %) and the most
frequent illnesses that led to self-medication were cold and headache (37% and
20.7 %, respectively). The most common method for drug access was through
drugstore (53.3%). Moreover, the students of Public Health and Dentistry faculties
showed the highest rates of self-medication (57.4% and 52.4%). In this study,
20.7% of those students who used self-medication faced side effects of the drugs.
Conclusion: To lower the rate of self-medication among students of Medicine
and Paramedicine, who are among the educated classes of the society and play an
important role in the improvement of the culture of the society, it is recommended
to implement proper training programs to change the attitudes and performance of
this population regarding drug consumption and its probable side effects.