Frequency of use of non-prescribed medication among population sample from Al Madina City and its impact on quality of care in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: Self-medication can be defined as the practice of using drugs that have not been prescribed, recommended, or controlled by a certified health-care professional. This term can be used when discussing patients who use non-prescription medications to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms, without consulting a medical practitioner and without any medical supervision. The objectives of this study are to identify patterns of self-medication in Saudi Arabia, to measure the association between gender and the use of non-prescribed medication, and to identify the type of medications involved, the dosages used, and patient’s sources of knowledge regarding the types, and doses of medications.


Method: Cross-section analytical observational study, conducted in Al Medina city, Saudi Arabia, over 6 months using a pretested self-administered questionnaire using a convenience sampling technique.


Results: With a response rate of 68.8%, it was found that 72.5% reported the use of non-prescribed medication and 24.3% reported a history of experiencing side effects from using non-prescribed medication with no significant difference between male and female. 81% were keen to read the medication instruction with higher response among females.Analgesics were the most common type of medication used with an 86.5% agreement with no statistical significant differences between male and females.


Conclusion: The study found heavy use of non-prescribed medication among the Al Medina residents sampled. This suggests a need for specialist training programs that could be directed at pharmacists, to help them disseminate information on the safe use of OTC or non-prescribed medications.


 

Keywords:

Community pharmacies drug utilization over-the-counter drugs quality of care Saudi Arabia self-care self-medication
Mahrous, M. S. (2018). Frequency of use of non-prescribed medication among population sample from Al Madina City and its impact on quality of care in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Health Sciences, 12(5). Retrieved from https://pub.qu.edu.sa/index.php/journal/article/view/2672
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Author Biography

Mohamed Saad Mahrous, Taibah University, College of Dentistry, Medical Education Department
Vice President of Taibah University for Quality and Development