Medicines in Pharmacy Students’ Residence and Self-medication Practices

This study was aimed at identifying the types of medicines in pharmacy students’ residence and to determine if a relationship exists between keeping medicines in students’ accommodation and self-medication practices. A cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 240 undergraduate pharmacy students of the University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria, was carried out. Participating students were given a self-administered questionnaire, and only 188 students returned their filled questionnaire. The data collected were entered and analyzed using SPSS 16, and the χ2-test was used to determine associations between the variables. The results revealed that 66.0% of respondents had medicines in their room. A total of 318 medicines items (2.56 items per student's room) of which 37.1% were leftover medicines were present in respondents’ rooms. Analgesics (34.3%) and antibiotics (25.2%) were the common classes of medicines present in respondents’ rooms. Respondents reported getting these medicines on prescription (25.8%) and self-medication (56.5%) or both (17.7%). Self-medication practice was common among respondents (53.2%); however, no significant relationship (P>0.05) existed between having medicine in students’ room and self-medication practices. Common reasons given by respondents for having medicines in their rooms were that they were leftover medicines and that they were keeping them for emergency use or for use in an event of a similar illness. Most respondents (72.2%) reported disposing of their unused medicines in a trash can/dust bin. This study demonstrated that the prevalence of medicine storage in students’ room and self-medication practice is high. Analgesics and antibiotics were the most common types of medicines present in students’ residence

Mapping the medical outcomes study HIV health survey (MOS-HIV) to the EuroQoL 5 Dimension (EQ-5D-3L) utility index

10.1186/s12955-019-1135-8Health and Quality of Life Outcomes1718

Estoque domiciliar de medicamentos na comunidade ibiaense acompanhada pelo Programa Saúde da Família, em Ibiá-MG, Brasil Drug storage at home in the community assisted by the Family Health Programme in Ibiá, MG, Brazil

O objetivo do estudo foi examinar o estoque de medicamentos na comunidade Ibiaense acompanhada pelo Programa Saúde da Família (PSF). Buscou-se descrever as características dos usuários, as condições de armazenamento, as classes terapêuticas, as formas farmacêuticas e a procedência dos medicamentos do estoque caseiro. Foram visitados 285 domicílios, no período de julho a setembro de 2004. Verificou-se que a média de medicamentos por domicílio foi de 8,4, e que 93,5% das famílias entrevistadas apresentaram pelo menos um medicamento em estoque. Os medicamentos estocados em maior número foram: analgésicos (11,15%), seguidos dos diuréticos (6,42%), antibacterianos para uso sistêmico (5,82%), anti-inflamatórios (5,08%) e antiácidos (4,10%). Embora seja considerável o número de medicamentos estocados nos domicílios, foi pequeno o número de medicamentos sem prescrição médica procedentes do Sistema Público de Saúde, sendo este um reflexo favorável dos serviços de Assistência Farmacêutica do Município. Apesar disso, foi verificado um elevado percentual (41,6%) de medicamentos adquiridos em farmácias sem a devida prescrição médica (automedicação). Foi encontrado um percentual de 18,5% de medicamentos vencidos. Verificou-se, também, que parte do estoque domiciliar resulta de prescrições com quantidades superiores às necessárias para o tratamento (20%), do não cumprimento do tratamento prescrito (17%) e da aquisição por conta própria (9%). O estudo sugere a necessidade de orientação dos usuários em relação à utilização e ao armazenamento dos medicamentos, à sistematização dos registros de dados e oferece subsídios para adoção de decisões vinculadas ao processo de planejamento e execução das ações na Assistência Farmacêutica.<br>The objective of this study was to examine the stock of drugs in the community that is assisted by Programa Saúde da Família (PSF - Family Health Programme) in the city of Ibiá, state of Minas Gerais. The purpose was to describe users' characteristics, storage conditions, therapeutic classes and pharmaceutical forms, the origin of the drugs, as well as the cost of the drugs provided by the Public Health System. A total number of 285 households were visited from July to September 2004. It was verified that the average number of drugs per household was 8.4 and that 93.5% of the surveyed families had at least one sort of drug in stock. The most stored drugs were: analgesics (11.15%), diuretics (6.42%), antibacterials for systemic use (5.82%), anti-inflamatory drugs (5.08%) and antacids (4.10%). Although there is a considerable number of drugs stored in the households, the number of drugs without prescription coming from the Public Health System was small. This is a good consequence of the Pharmaceutical Assistance services in the municipality. On the other hand, it was prescription (self-medication). In addition, 18.5% of the drugs were no longer valid for use. Part of the drug storage at home results from prescriptions in amounts that are higher than what is necessary for treatment (20.0%), from non-completion of the prescribed treatment (17.0%) and from acquisition of drugs for self-medication (9.0%).The study suggests the need to educate users in relation to drugs utilization and storage, and the need to systematize data records in order to manage the resources more efficiently, which will lead to adequate decisions related to the Pharmaceutical Assistance policy