ArticleNigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical Association
Self-Medication Practices in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Article in Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical Association. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Self-Medication Practices in Nigeria: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nigerian medical journal : journal of the Nigeria Medical AssociationArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Self-medication is a common health-seeking practice in Nigeria and is associated with inappropriate medicine use, adverse drug reactions, and antimicrobial resistance. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of self-medication in Nigeria and synthesize evidence on its patterns, determinants, and consequences. Methodology: A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online (AJOL) was conducted for studies published between January 2000 and June 2025. Eligible studies reported self-medication practices among Nigerian populations. Study selection followed PRISMA guidelines, and methodological quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Random-effects meta-analysis using a generalized linear mixed model was performed to estimate pooled prevalence with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A prediction interval was computed to estimate the expected range of true prevalence in future similar studies. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251130710). Results: Ninety-one studies involving 37,359 participants were included, with 86 contributing to the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of self-medication was 67.8% (95% CI: 63.0%-71.0%), with substantial heterogeneity (I Conclusion: Self-medication is highly prevalent in Nigeria, with widespread non-prescription antibiotic use contributing to antimicrobial resistance. Strengthening medicine regulation, improving healthcare access, expanding health insurance coverage, enhancing public education, and implementing antimicrobial stewardship programmes are essential to curb inappropriate self-medication and its consequences.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42677096PMC13527815What OpenQuestion holds
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.