ArticleTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene2019
Self-medication with non-prescribed pharmaceutical agents in an area of low malaria transmission in northern Tanzania: a community-based survey.
Article in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Prescription-only medicine requests by clients: Insights from community pharmacies.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2026Article
- Article
- Population-Based Prevalence of Antibiotic Residuals in Low, Moderate and High Malaria Endemicity Areas in Tanzania.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Issues associated with malaria self-medication in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.MalariaWorld journal · 2025Article
- Article
- Facility-based disease surveillance and Bayesian hierarchical modeling to estimate endemic typhoid fever incidence, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania, 2007-2018.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- A qualitative study on community use of antibiotics in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.PloS one · 2022Article
- An In-Depth Examination of Reasons for Autopsy Acceptance and Refusal in Northern Tanzania.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2020Article
- Between traditional remedies and pharmaceutical drugs: prevention and treatment of "Palu" in households in Benin, West Africa.BMC public health · 2020Article
- Provider-perceived barriers to diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome in Tanzania: a qualitative study.International health · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundSelf-treatment with antimicrobials is common in sub-Saharan Africa. Little is known about the prevalence of this practice where malaria transmission intensity is low, and little is known about the prevalence of self-treatment with other medications such as antihypertensives and antihyperglycemics.
methodsA two-stage randomized population-based cluster survey with selection proportional to population size was performed in northern Tanzania. Self-identified healthcare decision-makers from randomly selected households were asked to report instances of self-medication without a prescription in the preceding year. Associations between self-treatment and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed with Pearson's chi-squared and the Student's t-test.
resultsA total of 718 participants completed the survey, and 344 (47.9%) reported any household member obtaining medication without a prescription. Of these, 85 (11.8%) obtained an antimicrobial and four (0.6%) obtained an antihypertensive or antihyperglycemic. Of respondents reporting self-treatment, 306 (89.0%) selected the medication themselves. Self-treatment with antimicrobials was associated with post-primary education (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.22-3.16, p=0.005), younger age (43.1 vs 48.7 years, p=0.007) and higher socioeconomic status score (0.42 vs 0.34, p=0.023).
conclusionsSelf-treatment with antimicrobials in an area of low malaria transmission intensity was uncommon and self-treatment with antihypertensives and antihyperglycemics was rare.
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