ArticleBMC public health2020
Demographic, socio-economic and other associated risk factors for self-medication behaviour among university students of Sri Lanka: a cross sectional study.
Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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23 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gender and equity within antimicrobial resistance: a scoping review of evidence and policy in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Examine the Impact of Self-Medicated Antibiotics on Gut Bacterial Diversity From COVID-19 Patients in Gopalganj, Bangladesh.MicrobiologyOpen · 2025Article
- Resolution of signs and symptoms of illnesses among self-medicating undergraduate students of Mbarara University of Science and Technology: a cross-sectional study.Journal of pharmaceutical health care and sciences · 2025Article
- Article
- Self-medication pattern among medical students in Middle Delta, Egypt.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Towards Responsible Self-Medication Among Pharmacy Students: A Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey in Uganda.Drug, healthcare and patient safety · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice on self-care with over-the-counter medicines among pregnant women.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2024Article
- Self-medication among Basic Science Medical Students of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association · 2024Article
- Public Patterns and Determinants of Antibiotic Self-Medication and Antibiotic Knowledge in Southern Jordan.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Assessing the Reasons and Adverse Effects of Self-Medication in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sierra Leone. A Case Study of Moriba Town Section.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2024Article
- Self-Medication Practice and Associated Factors Among Health Science Students in Central Tanzania.The East African health research journal · 2024Article
- A cross-sectional study on knowledge and behavior regarding medication usage among guardians of left-behind children: evidence from China.BMC public health · 2023Article
- The self-medication behaviors of residents and the factors related to the consideration of drug efficacy and safety-A cross-sectional study in China.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Knowledge, perceptions, and consumption behaviour of cosmetics among undergraduates of Sri Lanka: a descriptive cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Self-Medication in Rural Northeastern Romania: Patients' Attitudes and Habits.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Definition of self-medication: a scoping review.Therapeutic advances in drug safety · 2022Article
- Modern drug self-medication and associated factors among pregnant women at Settat city, Morocco.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Article
- Risk factors associated with self-medication among the indigenous communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.PloS one · 2022Article
- Future Pharmacists' Opinions on the Facilitation of Self-Care with Over-the-Counter Products and Whether This Should Remain a Core Role.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSelf-prescribing practices are considered as a significant issue in the health sector due to mal-practices. This has become a more worsen issue in developing countries with easy access to medication. Current study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of self-medication and to evaluate the driving factors behind this behavior, among university students of Sri Lanka.
methodA total of 700 randomly selected undergraduates of three state universities in Sri Lanka, were recruited as the study population for the cross-sectional study. Information on socio-demographic, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices relevant to Self-Medication (SM) were gathered using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to calculate the Odds Ratios (OR) and the 95% confidence intervals of the OR for socio-demographic risk factors on SM.
resultsAround 78% of the studied population denoted a SM behaviour. Only, 37.7% of respondents were familiar with the classification of "Over the Counter" (OTC) drugs, while majority were well aware of the risks of SM (> 50%). Fever (61.3%) and cough (56.7%) were the major health issues for SM, while antipyretics and drugs for cough and runny nose (73.6%) were the mostly used medication. Previous experience (76%) and trivial nature of health issues (73%) were recognized as the major reasons for SM. Majority of respondents declared that community pharmacies (86.9%) and left over medication from previous prescriptions (51%) were the sources for SM. Based on the binary logistic regression, age, residence locality, field of study and academic year were recognized as significant risk factors (P < 0.05) for SM within the studied undergraduate population.
conclusionBased on the high prevalence rate of SM, the health authorities of Sri Lanka should pay more attention towards the wellbeing and responsible medication usage of undergraduates. Designing of effective tools and regulations to monitor the selling of medication and improving the health education are recommended to ensure responsible SM within the country.
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