Background: Self-medication is the use of medication without supervision by a health care professional, it remains a danger in the society because of the major health risks it poses. Our study aims to evaluate the awareness among Pakistan’s population as there is scarcity in the amount of literature regarding it.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi during the period of December 2019 to February 2020 and a total of 327 participants belonging to the geriatric age group took part in it. A structured questionnaire consisting of questions evaluating the knowledge regarding self-medication, questions on the participant’s attitude towards self-medication, and questions to assess the practices of the participants were asked. Analysis was done using SPSS version 26 and Chi square test was applied. A P-value of less than 0.05 was considered as significant.
Results: Out of 327 participants from the geriatric population that were interviewed, 215 (65.7%) self-medicated.It was noted that a vast majority preferred visiting a doctor rather than medicating on their own (n=232). It was found that a great number of our subjects were practicing self-medication for more than 10 years (n=124). It was concluded that the most common symptom for which the respondents self-medicated was headache (n=158).
Conclusion: Self-medication has been found to be highly prevalent in the geriatric population, with paracetamol being the most commonly used drug. Although, a number of participants have gained relief by self-medicating, this practice should be discouraged as it poses great health risks to the individuals.
