Self-Usage of antibiotics in medical and non-medical students of Islamabad and Rawalpindi

Background: Self-usage of drugs is defined as the use of the drugs for the treatment of self-diagnosed signs or symptoms and the continued or intermittent use of the prescribed drug for the acute or chronic signs and symptoms. Use of self-medication is normally done when people or consumers don't think the need of visiting a doctor or it might be because they think that they can handle their symptoms on their own. Objective: To determine the practice and usage of antibiotics and its associated factors in medical and nonmedical students of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Method: The comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted at medical and non-medical faculties of Riphah International University from February- July 2018, comprising students aged 20-30 years. Both genders were selected through non probability purposive sampling. A self-designed questionnaire was used to obtain the data. Data was analyzed through SPSS version 19. Results: Out of 926 students, practice of self-medication among medical students was higher 324 (35.0%) as compared to non-medical students 261 (28.2%). Practice of antibiotics in males was higher 348 (37.6%) as compared to females 237 (25.6%). Conclusion: The frequency of self-medication with antibiotics is higher in medical students particularly in male students.