ANTIMICROBIALS SELF MEDICATION AMONG PARAMEDICAL STUDENTS IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY

Self-medication refers to selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illness and symptoms. It is widely practiced globally and often regarded as part of self-care.  Though, unlike the other elements of self-care, it acts as a double-edged sword with the ability to do good as well as exposure to hazards because it employs use of drugs. The objective of this study was to assess prevalence of antibiotic self-medication among paramedical students of Usmanu Danfodiyo Sokoto, Nigeria. It was questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study involving undergraduate paramedical students in a Nigerian University. Participants were selected by multistage sampling technique and data generated was analyzed using SPSS version 20. Majority of the respondents were males and singles, 64(68%) and 84(89.4%) respectively.  Age ranged 18-25 years for majority of respondents, 87(92.6%). Eighty one point nine percent self-medicate with antimicrobials and penicillin was the most used antibiotic group 58(61.7%), and among the penicillin group, amoxicillin was the commonly used, 17(18.1%). There was no statistically significant association between gender, marital status and course of study with self-medication (X1=0.06, P=0.81; X1=0.028, P=0.87 and X3=2.28, P=0.52 respectively). Conclusion: A high proportion of self-medication with antimicrobials was observed among the respondents of the study. However there was no statistically significant association of the medication with gender, marital status or course of study.