PRACTICE OF SELF-MEDICATION IN NEPALESE PATIENTS PRESENTING IN ENT OUTPATIENT OF KIST MEDICAL COLLEGE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is a practice of using medications without prescription. It is a common practice in developing world like Nepal. The study aimed to assess the practice of self-medication in patients attending ENT and Head and Neck outpatient department of KIST Medical College and Teaching Hospital.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019- August 2021. Total 220 patients attending the ENT outpatients during the study period were enrolled in the study. Informed consent was taken from the patients. The semi structured pretested questionnaire was used to interview the patients by the trained medical doctor. Statistical analysis of data was performed by using Excel and SPSS.

Results: Among the 220(8.7%) respondents’ 52.7 percent were males and 47.3 percent were females. Adults with age ranging between 30 to 44 were found to practice self-medication (34.5%). Most of them were house wives (25.9%).  The common reasons for practice of self-medication were mild illness (64.1%), and the main source of self-medication was chemist (73.6%).

Conclusions: Self-medication is common practice in Nepal however our study indicates a decreasing trend of self-medication, especially in urban areas where access to health service is easy. The findings of the study indicate antibiotics are used more frequently as self-medication even in urban settings. This indicates misuse of access to medicines and can lead to rise of antibiotics resistant. So, we think national guideline should be prepared to make self-medication practice safe and rational.