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A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE PHENOMENON OF SELF-MEDICATION IN RURAL AND URBAN POPULATION

Dr. Irsa Babar, Dr. Hania Aamir, Dr. Eema Tabassum Saeed

Objective: We conducted this research to study the reasons of self-medication in rural and urban population. Methods: The cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan, from June, 2018 to June, 2019 and comprised inhabitants of rural and urban areas of the city regardless of gender and aged 18-50 years. The subjects were enrolled using non probability convenience sampling technique. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, which was validated through content validity index. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 786 participants, 551(70%) were from the urban areas and 235(30%) were from the rural areas. The mean age of the sample was 30.54±8.50. Overall, 746(95%) were taking medicines without a prescription. Among them, 528(96%) were urban and 218(93%) were rural inhabitants (p<0.07). Besides, 352(47.2%) were males and 394(52.8%) were females (p>0.05). The most frequent reason cited for self-medication was quick relief by 478(64.1%) subjects. Conclusion: Self-medication prevalence was very high in both urban and rural populations. Keywords: CVI approach, Analgesics, Antipyretics, Self-medication, Rural and Urban areas.

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