Assessing the reasons for increase in self‑medication and control measures among student nurses in University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria

Background:Self‑medication among student nurses is the use of medicines without doctor’s prescription.This practice is a global phenomenon and potential contributor to human resistance to most drugs,associated with different types of health challenges.Despite the high knowledge on the complication of self‑medication,studies showed that most student nurses still practice self‑medication.Aims:The aim of this study was to assess the reasons for increase in self‑medication and and find ways on how to curbing the menace among student nurses in the School of Nursing,University of Benin Teaching Hospital,Edo State,Nigeria.Materials and Methods:A descriptive cross‑sectional survey was conducted with stratified simple random sampling technique to select ninety student nurses from three different levels in the School of Nursing,University of Benin Teaching Hospital in Benin City,Edo State.A self‑structured questionnaire with open‑type and Likert‑type scale questions used as instrument to assess the reasons for increase in self‑medication and the possible control measures.Data collected were analyzed using tables,percentages,means,standard deviation,and t‑test for inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance,through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software.Results:The result showed the reasons for increase in self‑medication and how to reduce its occurrence.It also showed that the gender of the student nurses is statistically related to the reasons why they practice self‑medication(t=6.82,P≤0.001).Conclusion:Self‑medication can be reduced among student nurses by empowering the law enforcement agencies against self‑medication,improving the availability of essential and quality drugs in school clinics,and inclusion of all student nurses in National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS)program,where they can enjoy the benefit of paying only 10%of the treatment charges.

Pharmacist Opportunities to Improve Public Self-Medicating Practices in the UAE

Objective: Self-treatment is an important aspect of self-care and one of the vital issues under debate in health care. Self-medication patterns vary among different populations and are influenced by many factors. The objective was to investigate the nature of self-medication behavior among the general public in the UAE and to explore public attitudes, beliefs, and level of knowledge concerning self-medication. Methods: A purposive sample of individuals involved in self-medication who belong to different age, gender, income, education level and health-seeking behaviors. A qualitative approach through individual face-to-face interviews was utilized to investigate participants’ behaviors and attitudes towards self-medication;factors influencing decision to self medicate, sources of information on medications, types of conditions for which self-medication is sought and types of medications used. Participant recruitment continued until theme saturation using content analysis. Findings: Three themes emerged from the data: Reasons for self-medication such as costs associated with visiting a doctor, convenience in visiting a pharmacy and perception of simplicity of the condition;Sources of information: pharmacists as a main source in addition to medication leaflets, family role and previous use, and medicines and medicines’ use: medicines’ use in chronic disease, use of antibiotics, use of herbals and supplements and medicines’ use in children. Conclusion: Findings from this study indicate that self-medication behaviors are common among the population due to several reasons. Inappropriate self-medication practices are evident and may compromise patient care outcomes. Pharmacists play a vital role in intervening to optimize the use of medications and patient education regarding self-care.

The Social Context of Antibiotic Resistance

There are various socio-economic （poverty, self medication, and non-compliance to prescribed therapy） and behavior factors that affects the way of antibiotic use, which consequently brings the development of antibiotic resistance in patients. In the study, some of these social factors that might have an impact on the resistance of antibiotics in patients of regional of Vlora hospital during the period 2011-2012 were examined. The study was conducted using structured interviews on patients who were previously examined for bacterial cultures and sensitivity. The antibiotic resistance resulted really high in these patients. It is found out that the organisms with higher resistance were Streptococcus and Escherichia coli. 75% of the patients, whose cultures were positive, were resistant to at least one antibiotic and 31% to three or more antibiotics. A significant correlation between the structure of antibiotic resistance and the upper socio economic levels, the low educational level of the patients, self medication and the frequency of antibiotic use was found. These data have influence in the development of the awareness strategies in risky groups in order to clarify the concepts on the proper use of antibiotics.

Theory of Fighting the Epidemic with Traditional Chinese Medicine Qigong(气功)Therapy

Qigong(气功)therapy is an active self-paced exercise therapy and it has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM).As early as the mention of it in the Huang Di Nei Jing(《黄帝内经》Huangdi s Internal Classic),there is a record of using qigong therapy to prevent and treat pestilence.This thesis discusses the idea and methods of qigong therapy in TCM,such as daoyin(导引),expiration and inspiration,and meditation.These methods purpose to have the functions of strengthening and consolidating the primordial qi,improving health conditions,and resisting pestilent qi.Therefore,the core idea of fighting the epidemic with qigong therapy is to enhance the healthy qi,and to prevent the intrusion of pestilent qi into the human body.It embodies the TCM thought of“when there is sufficient healthy qi inside the body,the evil cannot invade the body.”