A Comparative Study to Assess the Prevalence, Knowledge of Impact, and Practice of Self-Medication Among Adults in Urban and Rural Communities in Bangalore

Prasanna Samuvel Babu; Venkatesan Balu; Bhima Uma Maheswari; Channabasappa K M; Pankaja K E; Embhah Dkhar

doi:10.7759/cureus.39672

A Comparative Study to Assess the Prevalence, Knowledge of Impact, and Practice of Self-Medication Among Adults in Urban and Rural Communities in Bangalore

Cureus. 2023 May 29;15(5):e39672. doi: 10.7759/cureus.39672. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Prasanna Samuvel Babu¹, Venkatesan Balu¹, Bhima Uma Maheswari², Channabasappa K M³, Pankaja K E², Embhah Dkhar¹

Affiliations

¹ Medical Surgical Nursing, Padmashree Institute of Nursing, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, IND.
² Child Health Nursing, Padmashree Institute of Nursing, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, IND.
³ Mental Health Nursing, Padmashree Institute of Nursing, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, IND.

Abstract

Background: Self-medication is the act of consuming medicines at the individual's own suggestion or recommendation by a family member, a friend, or untrained or unqualified health care personnel. Practice of self-medication differs among individuals and is influenced by several factors like age, educational status, gender, family monthly income, level of knowledge, and non-chronic illness.

Aim: This study aims to compare the prevalence, knowledge of impact, and practice of self-medication among adults in urban and rural communities.

Materials and methods: A non-experimental comparative study was conducted among adults in urban and rural communities practicing self-medication. In this study, the target population is aged between 21 and 60 years. The sample size is 50 urban adults and 50 rural adults. A convenient sampling technique method was used. The prevalence was assessed through a survey questionnaire. The self-structured questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of impact, and a non-observational checklist was used to assess the practice which was adopted by the research investigator.

Results: The present study results showed that the majority had inadequate knowledge (88%) regarding consuming self-medication in rural adults, there was overuse of self-medication practice (64%) in rural adults, and there was moderate usage of self-medication practice (64%) in urban adults. There was a statistically significant difference between knowledge and practice regarding self-medication among adults in urban and rural communities which was highly significant at p<0.05.

Conclusion: In the present study, comparison of the results of knowledge of impact and practice of self-medication among urban and rural adults revealed that urban adults have better adequate knowledge of impact of self-medication which helps them to practice moderate usage of self-medication.

Keywords: adverse effects of medication; consumption of medication; knowledge of impact; practice and adults; prevalence; self-medication.