Observational studyThe Pan African medical journal2020
Current self-medication practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: an observational study.
Observational study in The Pan African medical journal, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Population health management in Saudi Arabia: A narrative review of system undergoing reform.Dialogues in health · 2026Review
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward medication use among pregnant women attending Mansoura university hospital antenatal care clinics: an analytic cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Factors, Attitudes, and Prevalence of Self-Medication Among Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessing Self-medication Practices Among Healthcare Providers With Migraine in Saudi Arabia.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
- Cyberchondria, somatic symptoms, and internet-based self-diagnosis among the Saudi population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The pattern of self-medication practice among adult patients attending primary healthcare centers at NGHA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Assessment of Self-Medication Awareness During Pregnancy Among Saudi Women in Madinah: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2025Article
- Article
- Prevalence and predictors of self-medication practices among adult household members in Hosanna town, Hadiya zone, central Ethiopia.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Use of potentially inappropriate medication for elderly patients in tertiary care hospital of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2024Article
- Unravelling the dilemma of self-medication in Egypt: a cross-sectional survey on knowledge, attitude, and practice of the general Egyptian population.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Awareness and Management of Knee Pain and Osteoarthritis in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.Cureus · 2024Article
- Self-medication practice among the general public in Jordan: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Self-Medication Practices Among the General Population in Al-Baha City, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2023Article
- Self-Medication Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Residents of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Patterns of Drug Utilization and Self-Medication Practices: A Cross Sectional Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Effect of Chronic Laxative Use on Lipid Profile and HbA1c: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Study.Cureus · 2023Article
- Factors associated with the use of over-the-counter sleep aids containing diphenhydramine: A cross-sectional study in Saudi Arabia.Saudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Article
- Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Older Adults-Prevalence, Trends and Associated Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionmedication without prescription is a growing public health concern or phenomenon worldwide. This cross-sectional study was designed to study the trends of self-medication among Saudi population.
methodsa prospective, cross-sectional study including 2004 participants was carried out from different family clinics across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The clinicians used a self-designed questionnaire to collect the data, using stringent inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. The questionnaire recorded participants' demographics and included several closed-ended and open-ended questions with options to choose from. The results were gathered, inserted into an excel spreadsheet and analyzed using SPSS version 23. The analyzed information was presented as frequencies and percentages.
resultsour research showed that 924 respondents (46.1%) found it difficult to reach a hospital. Another 45.2% considered the inefficiency of health centers in providing necessary care as the main reason for self-medication. Other causes of self-medication included a lack of medical insurance, insurance not covering the costs for the drugs, and symptoms of the disease being mild enough for not going to the hospital. Analgesics were the most commonly self-administered drugs (84.58%), followed by antipyretics (71.26%), cough syrups (46.86%), eye drops (35.98%), antibiotics (35.28%), flu medication (32.83%), heartburn medication (23.15%), medicines for joint pain (15.02%), and so on.
conclusionthe majority of Saudi Arabians engage in self-medication and rely on advice from friends and family most of the time, instead of consulting a health professional.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.