Prevalence and practice of self-medication among high school students in United Arab Emirates

Objective: Adolescence is a key period in the emergence of health practices which may persist even during the adulthood. One of the potentially hazardous health practices among adolescents is selfmedication (SM). In this context, the present study aimed to identify the prevalence and practice of SM and to assess the factors related to SM among high school students of UAE. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional survey of 324 high school students from Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19 version. The association between SM and different variables was tested with Chi square test. Results: The majority of the participating students were females aged 16-17 years. The prevalence rate of SM among the participants was 89%, which did not vary with age or gender. There was no association of SM with parents’ educational level. The most common sources of drug and drug information were private pharmacies and parents respectively. Headache and fever were common self-medicated conditions and consequently, analgesics and antipyretics were most commonly used both in the previous two weeks and during the year before the survey. The average number drugs used in self-medication in the previous two weeks and during the past year were 2±1.5 and 3±3.5 respectively. The students indicated presence of mild illness and previous experiences with the medicines as the most common reason for SM. High risk practices like altering dosage (43%); stopping medication (50%) and SM without adult guidance (25%) were also observed. Conclusion: The prevalence of SM among high school students in UAE is high. There is a need to create awareness about the risks and benefits of SM. Healthcare providers, pharmacists, educators and parents should be actively involved in health education strategies for establishing safe SM practices.