Prevalence of Self-medication and the Effect of COVID- 19 Pandemic, Personal Experience
Keywords:
COVID-19, Self-Medication, Prevalence.Abstract
Although a global challenge, self-medication is a growing problem in our country. Raising public awareness of the problem is urgently needed. Prophylactic measures of the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased the prevalence. This prospective study was conducted at my private ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) clinic in Almahawil District, Babylon, Iraq. I am making a comparison of the prevalence of self-medication in my patients between a period of 6 months before (from January 1st to June 30th, 2019) and a 6-month period following (from January 1st to June 30th, 2022) the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the prevalence of the practice of self-medication and the likely impact of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions on its progressive rising. This study included 5400 patients with ENT disorders, 2520 patients in the first phase, and 2880 patients in the second phase. Age ranged from 3 months to 84 years. The male: female ratio is 1.2:1 in the first period and 1.3:1 in the second period. The spectrum of diseases is so broad that it covers almost the entire field of ENT medicine. The drugs that are used as self-medication are also diverse. In the first period, 1360 (54%) of the patients self-medicated prior to their clinic visit, while in the second period, 2160 (75%) of them self-medicated prior to their Clinic visits.
Downloads
References
WHO, “1. Guidelines for the regulatory assessment of
medicinal products for use in self-medication. Geneva:
World Health Organization; 2000,” 2000.
B. D, “Self-medication: A current challenge,” J Basic Clin
Pharma., vol. 5, pp. 19–23, 2014.
F. G. Limaye D, Limaye V, Krause G, “A systematic review
of the literature to assess self- medication practices,”
Ann Med Heal. Sci Res, vol. 7, pp. 1–15, 2017.
M. R. Johnston LD, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg
JE, “Monitoring the future: national survey results on
drug use, 1975–2009. Volume II: college students and
adults ages 19–50. Bethesda, Maryland,” 2010.
SAl-Shaheeb H, Hashim K, Mohammed AK, Almashhadani
HA, Al Fandi A. Assessment of lipid profile with HbA1c in
type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients. Revis Bionatura 2022; 7
(3) 29.
F. G. Hughes CM, McElnay JC, “Benefits and risks of selfmedication,” Drug Saf, vol. 24, pp. 1027–37, 2001.
W. H. Organization, “Self-care in the context of primary
health care.,” 2009.
et al Scicluna EA, Borg MA, Gür D, Taher I, Redjeb SB,
Elnassar Z, “Self- medication with antibiotics in the
ambulatory care setting within the EuroMediterranean region; results from the ARMed project,”
J Infect Public Heal., vol. 2, pp. 189–97, 2009.
et al. Ocan M, Obuku EA, Bwanga F, Akena D, Richard S,
Ogwal-Okeng J, “Household antimicrobial selfmedication: a systematic review and meta- analysis of
the burden, risk factors and outcomes in developing
countries,” BMC Public Health, vol. 15, p. 742, 2015.
Ahmed GS, Shari FH, Alwan HA, Obaid RF, Almashhadani
HA, Kadhim MM. The Level of Nitric Oxide Synthase and
Nitric Oxide in Hypertensive Women. Journal of
Pharmaceutical Negative Results¦ Volume.
;13(3):237.
W. H. Organization, “Safety of medicines — A guide to
detecting and reporting adverse drug reactions — Why
health professionals need to take action.” [Online].
Available:
http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Jh2992e/.
WHO, “Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).” [Online].
Available: https://www.who.int/
emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.
A. R. Nicola M, O’Neill N, Sohrabi C, Khan M, Agha M,
“Evidence based management guideline for the COVID-
pandemic — Review article,” Int J Surg, vol. 77, p.
—16, 2020.
A. M. Almaamuri, “A Questionnaire Based Study to Assess
Knowledge, Attitude, Practices, and Concerns
Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination Among Educated
Group of Population. ,” Rev. Int. Geogr. Educ. Online, vol.
, no. 8, pp. 2347–2354, 2021.
Mohammed AK, Al-Shaheeb S, Fawzi OF, Almashhadani
HA, Kadhim MM. Evaluation of Interlukein-6 and
Vitamin D in Patients with COVID-19. Research Journal
of Biotechnology Vol. 2022 Oct;17(10).
K. B. Hale T, Thomas B, Noam A, Cameron-Blake E, Hallas
L, “Variation in Government Responses to COVID-19’’,”
[Online]. Available:
www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/covidtracker.
K. J.-P. Kretchy IA, Asiedu-Danso M, “Medication
management and adherence during the COVID-19
pandemic: Perspectives and experiences from low-and
middle-income countries.,” Res Soc. Admin Pharma,
P. and Wong, L., Hawkins, J., Langness, S., Murrell, K. L., Iris
and A. Sammann, “Where are all the patients?
Addressing covid-19 fear to encourage sick patients to
seek emergency care.,” NEJM Catal Innov Care Deliv,
A. H. Islam, M. S., Sarkar, T., Khan, S. H., Mostofa Kamal, A.
Hasan, S. M. M., Kabir, A., Yeasmin, D., Islam, M. A., A. A.
and S. Chowdhury, K. I., Anwar, K. S., Chughtai, and H.,
“COVID-19-Related Infodemic and Its Impact on Public
Health: A Global Social Media Analysis.,” Am. J. Trop.
Med. Hyg., vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 1621–1629, 2020.
et al Buke C, Hosgor-Limoncu M, Ermertcanb S, Ciceklioglu
M, Tuncel M, Köse T, “Irrational use of antibiotics among
university students,” J Infect, vol. 51, pp. 135–9, 2005.
K. A. Abasaeed A, Vlcek J, Abuelkhair M, “Self-medication
with antibiotics by the community of Abu Dhabi
Emirate, United Arab Emirates,” J Infect Dev Ctries, vol.
, pp. 491–7, 2009.
A. S. Shehadeh M, Suaifan G, Darwish RM, Wazaify M, Zaru
L, “Knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding
antibiotics use and misuse among adults in the
community of Jordan. A pilot study.,” Saudi Pharm J,
vol. 20, pp. 125–33.
B. M. Ilhan MN, Durukan E, Ilhan SO, Aksakal FN, Ozkan S,
“Self- medication with antibiotics: questionnaire survey
among primary care center attendants,”
Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, vol. 18, pp. 1150–7, 2009.
K. T. Emeka PM, Al-Omar M, “Public attitude and
justification to purchase antibiotics in the Eastern
region Al Ahsa of Saudi Arabia,” Saudi Pharm J, vol. 22,
pp. 550–4.
et al Alrasheed A, Yagoub U, Alkhashan H, Abdelhay O,
Alawwad A, Alaboud A, “Prevalence and predictors of
self-medication with antibiotics in Al Wazarat Health
Center, Riyadh City, KSA.,” BioMed Res Int, 2016, doi:
http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1155/2016/3916874.
A. G. Jose J, Jimmy B, Alsabahi AG, “A study assessing
public knowledge, belief and behavior of antibiotic use
in an Omani population,” Oman Med J, vol. 28, pp. 324–
, 2013.
H. S. Darwish DA, Abdelmalek S, Abu Dayyih W,
“Awareness of antibiotic use and antimicrobial
resistance in the Iraqi community in Jordan,” J Infect
Dev Ctries, no. 8, pp. 616–23, 2014.
S. P. Cheaito L, Azizi S, Saleh N, “Assessment of selfmedication in population buying antibiotics in
pharmacies: a pilot study from Beirut and its suburbs,”
Int J Public Heal., vol. 59, pp. 319–27, 2014.
A. S. Alakhali K, Alzomar A, Khan N, “Misuse of antibiotics
and awareness of antibiotic hazard among the public
and medical professionals in Thamar province, in
Republic of Yemen. Pharmacie Globale,” IJCP, vol. 4, pp.
–4, 2013.
A. E. R. Sawair FA, Baqain ZH, Abu Karaky A, “Assessment
of self-medication of antibiotics in a Jordanian
population,” Med Princ Pr., vol. 18, pp. 21–5, 2009.
G. V Barah F, “Antibiotic use and knowledge in the
community in Kalamoon, Syrian Arab Republic: a crosssectional study,” East Mediterr Heal. J, vol. 16, pp. 516–
, 2010.
H.-R. F. Raz R, Edelstein H, Grigoryan L, “Self-medication
with antibiotics by a population in northern Israel,” Isr
Med Assoc J, vol. 7, pp. 722–5, 2005.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
