Objective: To determine the frequency of using non-prescribed medication in a Saudi Arabian city.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in Majmaah city, Saudi Arabia, from January to May 2014, and comprised adults of either gender. For data collection, a questionnaire was designed and its reliability was checked by Cronbach Alpha. SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: Of the 390 respondents 276(70.8%) were males, while 114(29.2%) were females. The overall mean age was 29.90±11.56 years (range: 18-83 years). Of the total, 363(93.1%) were using non-prescribed medication; and 148(37.9%) said they were using the drugs as they had experienced similar symptoms before and they knew the treatment. Public pharmacies were the main source for obtaining non-prescribed medication for 163(41.8%) subjects. Gender and use of non-prescribed medication was significantly associated (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The frequency of using non-prescribed medication in Majmaah city was high. Pain-killers, antibiotics and antipyretics were the most used non-prescribed medications. Male respondents used non-prescribed medication more than the females.
Keywords: Non-prescribed medication, Saudi population, Self-medication, Majmaah community..