Proportion of Self-Prescribed Drug Consumption of M.6 Students in a Secondary School in Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Self-care is the implication for primary health care strategies, which is more common among Thai people. M.6 students, last year to graduate from fundamental Thai education, are those in between adolescent and young adults. Many have to judge and take care of themselves. So in this study, our purposes were to find out 1) the proportion of self-prescribed drugs use in M.6 students, 2) proportion of each drugs and 3) their reasons, sources, costs, and consultants.

Methods: This was a descriptive study conducted in 200 registered M.6 students in first semester, in one of the secondary school in Khon Kaen province. They were selected by using cluster sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was applied. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 17.0 with descriptive statistics as percentage, 95% CI

Results: The overall response rate was 99%(198/200). 58.6% of sample sizes were self-prescribed drug students (95% CI: 48.2, 68.3). Paracetamol (88.6%) was the most proportion, following by combined drugs (45.5%) and anti-histamines (36.8%). Most students are buying from drug stores because it was convenient, could consult with pharmacist and wasn’t expensive.

Conclusion: About 60% of sample sizes were self-prescribed drug students, most of drugs are the over-the-counter drugs.