Self-Medication Practice in Community Pharmacies: The Case of Dessie Town, Northeast Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is widely practiced for a wide range of illness or symptoms for both over the counter and prescription only drugs. It is the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-illness. Inappropriate self-medication practice results economical wastages, impairment due to the adverse drug reactions, contraindication, prolong suffering and damaging of vital organs due to over dose. Misuse of antibiotics by the public results not only harm to the patients but also leads to the developments of drug resistant bacteria. Objective: This study was conducted to assess self-medication practice in Dessie community pharmacies. Methods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted in Dessie community pharmacies starting from January 1 to 14, 2015. The sample size was 370 and we used systematic random sampling method to select the representative samples from the study population. Our data collection instruments were questionnaires. Data was analyzed by using Microsoft excel 2010. Result: Eleven community pharmacies were included in the study during the period of data collection. The majority of the respondents, 89.5%, were between 13 to 64 years of age. Of these clients, 45.1% of them were females. From the total clients, 42.4% obtained drugs without prescriptions for self-medication. The common illness/symptoms that necessitate self-medication were headache/fever (34.65%). Analgesics were requested by 27.7% of the respondents. One third of the clients obtained advice from health professionals other than pharmacy professionals. Conclusion: and recommendations: There is wide range of self-medication practice for a wide range of illness for over the counter and prescription only drugs at the study sites. Pharmacy professionals should maintain good dispensing practices and proper regulatory. Control mechanisms should be devised to prevent the use of prescription only medications without prescription.