Utilização de medicamentos por automedicação e autoprescrição por acadêmicos do curso de farmácia de uma instituição de ensino superior na região metropolitana de Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil

Abstract

Self-medication and self-prescription are practices that hamper the rational use of medicines. Several factors have been associated with these practices, including the safety perception that health and medicine knowledge bring to undergraduate students in health care. The aim was to characterize the use of drugs by self-medication and self-prescription by academics of the Pharmacy course of a college in metropolitan region of Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil. Analytical, quantitative and cross-sectional study with prospective data collection on use of medicines by self-medication and self-prescription by academics of the Pharmacy course of a college through structured questionnaires. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee, according to Resolution 466/2012. Data were analyzed by EpiInfoTM software through descriptive statistics and search for correlations between variables. The majority of the interviewees were female (70.3%) and attended the 8th and 10th college periods (20.7% and 18.9%, respectively). More than 94.0% of the students interviewed reported the use of over-the-counter medications and 80.2% reported that the indication was made by neighbors, friends or acquaintances. In addition, 70.3% reported the use of over-the-counter medications sporadically. The most reported motivation for self-medication / self-prescription was pain (75.7%) and prevention and treatment of colds (44.1%). The most commonly used drugs were analgesics (66.7%) and anti-inflammatory (60.4%). The least reported medications were for acne (11.7%). No statistically significant relationship was found between the performance of this practice and the variables age, knowledge in pharmacology, salary and sex.