18 research outputs found
Estudo do padrão de consumo de medicamentos pelos estudantes da Universidade de Lisboa
A caracterização do padrão de consumo de medicamentos nos estudantes universitários contribui não só para um melhor conhecimento sobre a sua saúde, mas também para a elaboração de programas que visam o uso racional do medicamento na população em geral, pois são potenciais líderes de opinião das comunidades onde se inserem.
Assim, foi efectuado um estudo qualitativo do consumo de medicamentos nos estudantes da Universidade de Lisboa (UL) visando: caracterizar o padrão de consumo de medicamentos, o perfil sócio-demográfico, psicológico e de saúde; identificar preditores de consumo; estimar o grau de adequação na sua utilização.
Realizou-se um estudo descritivo e transversal numa
amostra aleatória, constituída por 1147 alunos, aos quais foi administrado um questionário para obtenção de informação
relativa aos medicamentos consumidos na quinzena anterior e para a caracterização dos inquiridos. Cerca de 57% dos estudantes inquiridos consumiram medicamentos na quinzena anterior ao inquérito, tendo o número de medicamentos variado entre 1 e 10 por consumidor. O uso de medicamentos revelou-se associado ao status de saúde, mas foi independente de qualquer das variáveis sóciodemográficas estudadas, exceptuando o sexo, pois foi significativamente maior nas mulheres, mesmo após exclusão de contraceptivos orais. No período estudado foram consumidos 1160 medicamentos, dos quais 78% de prescrição médica obrigatória. Os grupos terapêuticos mais utilizados foram os do sistema nervoso cérebro-espinal (34,4%) e do aparelho músculo-esquelético (16,4%). Cerca de 6% dos consumidores utilizaram antibióticos, 8% psicofármacos, 15% AINES e 22% analgésicos e antipiréticos. O Paracetamol foi o fármaco mais usado. A prevalência de automedicação foi de apenas 19% e a maioria dos inquiridos assumiu ter cumprido a terapêutica instituída. Cerca de 58% dos consumidores consideram-se bem informados quanto aos efeitos adversos e contra-indicações dos medicamentos usados.
Conclusões: o consumo de medicamentos pelos alunos da UL foi elevado, mas na maioria dos casos de forma adequada. Segundo a sua utilização, a dor, a infecção e os
desequilíbrios psicoemocionais foram os problemas de saúde mais frequentes. O estudo do consumo de medicamentos através da administração de um questionário revelou-
se um instrumento muito útil para a caracterização do padrão de utilização e do grau de informação dos consumidores sobre o produto e da adequação com que o utilizam.
The characterisation of the drug use pattern in university students
and their knowledge and attitudes about the drugs used
is very important to obtain an indirect picture of morbidity in
this community, to identify drug use predictors and also to
develop strategies leading to a more rational use of medicines
in the general community.
Thus, in order to reach those purposes, a cross-sectional
survey was carried out in a probabilistic sample of students
of Lisbon University (UL) including 1147 subjects (354
males and 791 females). Information about the use of
medicines in the previous fortnight and co-variates was
collected by questionnaire which was administered by
trained interviewers.
About 57% of the students took medicines in the period studied.
The number of drugs consumed ranged from 1 to 10 per
student, although the majority consumed 1 or 2. Drug use was
associated with health status, but it was independent from all
the socio-demographic variables under study, except sex.
Females consume significantly more drugs, even after the
exclusion of oral contraceptives.
In the period under study, students consumed 1160 medicines,
being 78% of them mandatory — prescription medicines. The
therapeutic groups more used were the nervous system
(34.4%) and the musculo-skeletal system (16.4%). About 6%
of the consumers used antibiotics, 8% used psychodrugs, 15%
used NSAIDS and 22% used analgesics and antipiretics. Paracetamol
was the most used drug. The self medication prevalence
was 19% and the majority of the consumers assumed to
have a compliant attitude. About 58% of the consumers consider
themselves well informed about the adverse effects and
the contraindications of the medicines used.
Conclusions: the students of the UL consumed medicines frequently,
but, in general, they used them properly. The most
frequent health problems were: pain, infection and the psychoemotional
disorders. The administration of a questionnaire, to
collect information about drug use, demonstrated to be an useful
tool in order to characterise the drug use pattern and to find
out the consumer’s knowledge about the medicines used
Measurement of patients' knowledge of their medication in community pharmacies in Portugal
El objetivo do artículo es determinar el conocimiento de los pacientes sobre sus medicamentos. Estudio observacional descriptivo transversal. El conocimiento se midió mediante un cuestionario válido y fiable (CPM-PT-PT), a los pacientes que acudieron a las farmacias comunitarias participantes en el estudio solicitando uno o varios medicamentos en el Área Metropolitana de Lisboa. Se determinó el conocimiento en sus cuatro dimensiones: objetivo terapéutico, proceso de uso, seguridad y conservación de los medicamentos que el paciente utiliza. Participaron 35 farmacias, obteniéndose 633 pacientes válidos. El 82.5% (IC95%: 79,3%-85,3%) no conocen el medicamento que utilizan. En todos los ítems, hubo un alto porcentaje de pacientes con conocimiento incorrecto, destacando especialmente las precauciones (44,7%). La dimensión que menos conocen los pacientes fue la "seguridad del medicamento" (1,9%). 8 de cada 10 pacientes de la población no conocen el medicamento que utilizan. La mayor carencia de información correcta corresponde a la "seguridad" del medicamento.The scope of this article is to determine patients' knowledge about the medication they take. For this purpose, a cross-sectional, observational and descriptive study was conducted. Knowledge was measured by a valid and reliable questionnaire (CPM-PT-PT), given to the patients attending community pharmacies participating in the study, who had prescriptions for one or more drugs in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Knowledge was assessed in four dimensions: therapeutic objective, process of use, safety and maintenance of the medications that the patient takes. Thirty-five pharmacies participated, and 633 valid patients were obtained. Fully 82.5% (95% CI: 79.3% -85.3%) were uninformed about the nature of the drug they use. In all items, there was a high percentage of patients with incorrect knowledge, with emphasis on precautions (44.7%). The dimension that the patients were least aware of was "drug safety" (1.9%). Eight out of 10 patients in the population do not know what drug they use. The highest lack of correct information was with respect to the "safety" of the medication
Patterns and determinants of psychoactive drug use in Lisbon University students : a population-based study
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comObjective: To study the patterns and determinants of psychoactive drug use by Lisbon University students.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted, from January to April 2000, in a probabilistic sample of 1,147 students. Information about use of
psychoactive drugs and co-variates was collected by a questionnaire administered by trained interviewers. Psychoactive drugs were considered to be all medicines
classified in group N (nervous system) of the ATC system except the anesthetics (subgroup N01) and the analgesics (subgroup N02). Results: 91 students (7.9%) had taken psychoactive drugs during the fortnight before the interview, 39 of whom(42.8%) mentioned continuous use. The prevalence of use was significantly higher in females (9.6%), older than 25 years (13.1%), married (16%), who considered themselves to have a
weak health status (21.7%), as under intense stress (15.5%). After adjustment by multivariate analysis the variables sex,
self-evaluation of health status and daily stress retained a higher significant association with psychoactive drug use. A
total of 132 drugs were reported as being used in that period.
Tranquilizers (ATC N05B or N05C) were used by 82 students (7.2%), while 22 (1.9%) consumed psychoactive stimulants (N06B) and 19 (1.7%) antidepressants (N06A). In
all of these therapeutical subgroups, females had higher consumption prevalence than males, but the difference was
statistically significant only for tranquilizers (P 0.001).
Anxiety, depression and insomnia were the most frequently stated health problems. More than 90% of drug consumers considered they had a compliant attitude and about 60%
considered themselves well-informed about adverse effects of the drug used. The reported prevalence of self-medication for
psychoactive drugs used was 12.8%.
Conclusions: The prevalence of psychoactive drug use among students of Lisbon University was higher than expected, considering age group and the usual health status of this
population. The administration of a questionnaire was a very useful tool to characterise the pattern of use and the
consumer’s knowledge about the drugs consumed.This study is sponsored by a grant of the University of Lisbon