Impact of self-medication among first and second year para medical students of a teaching hospital in Dakshina Kannada, South India: A comparative assessment

Introduction: Self-medication is said to be widely practiced among students perceiving careers in medical and health related courses and learning pharmacology might further influence this practice. Hence this study is done to assess the knowledge, attitude and self-medication practices among first and second year paramedical students & to assess the role of studying Pharmacology in this behavior. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during May 2017 with a self- structured and pre-validated questionnaire. Study population consisted of two groups, mainly 1st and 2nd year paramedical students who have completed the Pharmacology course. Data were analyzed using descriptive analyses. Results: 95% of respondents from group I and 93% from group II have practiced self-medication at least once. 3.8% of respondents had experienced adverse effects. Drugs commonly used for self-medication were analgesics (58% of group I & 49% of group II) antibiotics (32% of group I & 40% of group II). Awareness about dosage, ADR's, antibiotic resistance was significantly higher in group II. Both groups demonstrated adequate knowledge regarding self-medication. Conclusion: Second year paramedical students had a better knowledge about self-medication, which reflects the influence of medical training.