شيوع خودرماني در بيمارستان بستري در مراكز آموزشي - درماني قزوين

Self-medication among the in-patients of Qazvin teaching hospitals

Background : Self-medication is referred to drug consumption without diagnosis and prescripsion of a physician. It results in over dose of drug consumption in the society and may induce harmful side-effects. Objective : To study self-medication among the in-patients of Qazvin teaching hospitals. Methods:Through a descriptive study , 400 patients who were admitted in Qazvin teaching hospitals were interviewed through a questionnaire. Findings : 83.3% of all patients committed self-medication. The most prevalent form of drugs were tablets (41%) and the most common diseases for which they were used were respiratory , psychiatric and alimentary complications respectively. The most common factors underlying self drug consumption were negligence of the disease (30%) and inability to afford the visit fees of the physicians (14.7%). Administered drug consumption was more prevalent amoung 40 to 66 year old patients (86.5%) and less prevalent among 0 to 12 year old. It was also more prevalent among government employees and families with members more than 10. It was also very common among people having university degrees , and non-medical insured patients. Conclusions : Since drug production demands high expenses and self-administration may induce harmful side-effects , a reform in the cultural and educational habits of patients is recommended.