ArticleBMC public health2019
Self-medication with over the counter drugs, prevalence of risky practice and its associated factors in pharmacy outlets of Asmara, Eritrea.
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers.
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Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 173 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prescription and Non-prescription Medication Pill Burdens and Their Associations with Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Drugs & aging · 2025Trial
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- The use and misuse of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Ibuprofen) and paracetamol among mothers who presented with their children in health facilities in Enugu, South‒East Nigeria.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Expanding OTC medicine access in non-pharmacy settings for self-medication: a scoping review.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Review
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- Primary care physicians' continuous usage intention of a B2B telemedicine system: an empirical study based on a hybrid model in China.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Factors, Attitudes, and Prevalence of Self-Medication Among Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Self-Medication: Attitudes and Behaviors Among Pharmacy and Medical Students.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Knowledge, sources and use of over-the-counter drugs by teachers in a Nigerian urban community.Ghana medical journal · 2025Article
- Prevalence and risk factors of self-medication with antibiotics in the general population of Tehran-a population-based study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Understanding and practices of over-the-counter drugs for self-care among students of different medical faculties in a low-and middle-income country.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Self-medication with NSAIDs and purchase of branded and over-the-counter medicines: Analysis of a national survey in Peru.Journal of public health research · 2025Article
- Structured over-the-counter medicine dataset to improve the safety of pharmaceuticals.Data in brief · 2024Article
- Prevalence of self-medication practices with antibiotics and associated factors among students in five colleges in Eritrea: a cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
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- Evidence of validity of the Risk Self-Medication Questionnaire focused on Health Literacy.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2024Article
- Knowledge, perceptions, and management of symptoms of hormonal imbalance among adolescent girls in selected schools in Ghana: a qualitative exploratory study.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2024Article
7 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough over the counter (OTC) drugs are believed to be relatively safe, their inappropriate use could have serious implications. The aim of the study was to assess the practice of self-medication, prevalence of risky practice and its associated factors in pharmacy outlets of Asmara, Eritrea.
methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 609 customers in 20 pharmacy outlets in Asmara between August and September, 2017. Two-stage cluster sampling was employed and data were collected using a structured questionnaire through face to face exit interviews. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were performed using SPSS (version 22).
resultsOf the 609 customers, 93.7% had practiced self-medication with OTC drugs; of which 81.8% were at risky practice. On average, each participant was using OTC drugs at least once a month (Median = 1, IQR = 3.67). Educational level (p < 0.0001), religion (p = 0.047), occupation (p = 0.027) and knowledge regarding OTC drugs (p = 0.019) were significantly associated with risky practice. Respondents with elementary and below educational level were fifteen times (AOR = 15.49, CI: 1.97, 121.80) at higher risk compared to those with higher education, and students were almost three times (AOR = 2.96, CI: 1.13, 7.73) at higher risk than governmental employees. Furthermore, respondents with below average score in knowledge were more likely to be engaged in risky practice (AOR = 1.83, CI: 1.11, 3.04) compared to those with above average score. The most frequently preferred OTC drug group was analgesics (34.3%) followed by antipyretics (15.7%) and cough and cold preparations (14.2%). About 14% of the respondents admitted that they had taken more than the recommended dose and 6.9% had experienced drug related problems following the consumption of OTC drugs. Always, 35% of the respondents read package insert(s) and 73.9% check expiry dates while purchasing OTC drugs. Refrigerating OTC drugs, where it is not recommended, was also one of the prominent risky practices.
conclusionsThis study revealed that inappropriate self-medication practice with OTC drugs was prevalent requiring early intervention to minimize the risks.
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