Khalid Awad Al-Kubaisi
University of Gloucestershire, UK
Title: Consequences of irrational self-medication practices among university students in UAE
Biography
Biography: Khalid Awad Al-Kubaisi
Abstract
There is a high prevalence of Self-medication practices among university students in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although Over the Counter (OTC) drugs does not need prescription but they are safe only when used with proper guidance and with pharmacist consultation. Improper use of Oral Non-Prescription Drugs (ONPD) leads to carelessness and which may further leads to serious consequences. The aim of this research is to identify the common practices among university students using ONPD and its consequences.
A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted from January to April 2014, among 2875 students in three randomly selected UAE universities. A structured and validated questionnaire was used to collect the responses of the students. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data.
A majority of the participants were females (76.3%). The most common cause of using ONPD was found to be minor illness (78.7%). Analgesics/Antipyretics were the common category of ONPD among the students. (84.9%). More than one-third of participants (34.1%; 461 of 1348) had used more than one drug for treating a single symptom (polypharmacy). The major risk associated with the ONPD users were found to be belief of effectiveness of ONPD(OR = 0.348, 95% CI: .161-0.916, p<0.04); frequency of use behavior (OR = 2.368, 95% CI: 1.615-3.472, p<0.001); dose-seeking behavior (OR = 2.368, 95% CI: 1.615-3.472, p<0.00), informal source of ONPD information(OR = 1.528, 95% CI: 1.096-2.130, p<0.02) and self-care orientation(OR = 2.331, 95% CI: 1.602-3.392, p<0.001).
The irresponsible behaviour of self-medication is high among university students in UAE. There is a need for an educational intervention to motivate students to be use non-prescription drugs more wisely.