Open AccessBehavior of Medical Students toward Over-the-Counter Drugs in Comparison to Students from Other Faculties, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Author(s) -
Amar Khalifa,
Yasser Nabil AlKhudairy,
Adel Ahmed Algahtani,
Bandar Mohammed Abduljabbar,
Fahad Majed Aldawsari,
Faisal Hunaidi Kharsa,
Khalid Mohammed AlSafadi,
Mazen Abdulla Mahjoub,
Naif Suliaman AlAli,
Rakan Abdulrahman AlAdwanie,
Salah Adel Abduljabbar,
Sameh Moetaz Alrouh,
Shaikh Shaheer Salim
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of pharmaceutical research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2456-9119
DOI - 10.9734/jpri/2021/v33i35b31911
Subject(s) - over the counter , medical prescription , medicine , family medicine , medical advice , traditional medicine , pharmacology , psychiatry
Background: Over-the-counter-drugs (OTC) are drugs that can be obtained by patients without a prescription from a physician. In Saudi Arabia, it has been reported that more than half of university students practiced self-medication and used OTC drugs.
Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study, among medical and non-medical students in Riyadh. The sample size was 421, by systemic random sampling. A pre-coded pre-tested online questionnaire was used. Data was analyzed using SPSS V 23. P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: There was no significant relationship between what the participants were majoring in and the usage of OTC drugs (p value= 0.373). Gender also had no relation with the use of OTC (p value= 0.168). Panadol appeared as the most commonly used OTC drug 62.9% for the relief of the most commonly mentioned factor which is headache 50.12%.
Conclusion: Medical education didn’t have much of an effect on the use of OTC drugs. Moreover, professional guidance or advice was not considered most of the time for taking OTC, but the majority of respondents portrayed good behavior towards usage of OTC.