Background: Self-medication practice (SMP) is the use of medication without the prescription of health care professionals. The major problems associated with self-medication practice have been drug resistance, drug side effects, wastage of resources, and serious health hazards including death. This study was conducted to assess the magnitude and factors associated with self-medication practice among adult household members in Shinyanga Municipal Council (SMC).
Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in SMC, in September and October 2020. A multistage cluster random sampling was used to select study participants. Variables such as socio-demographic factors and reasons for SMP were summarized using frequencies and percentages. Chi square and logistic regression test were used to identify factors associated with SMP. All statistics were done using SPSS version 25.
Results: In total 422 adult household members were studied, the magnitude of SMP among adult household members in SMC was 86%. The major symptom of illness that lead to SMP were headache 75(38.9%), fever 71 (37%) and cough 52 (27.1%) while paracetamol 84(43.8%), Ampiclox 30 (15.5%) and artemether lumefantrine 25 (13%) were the commonly used drugs. Perceptions of illness as mild 141(38.8%)and previous experience of self-medication138(38%) were the reasons for SMP. Participants who did not complete secondary education were seven times more likely to practice SMP as compared to those who had university education (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] =7.136, 95%CI=1.447-35.180, P=0.016). Participants with average household income (AHI) (<180,000 TSH=<78USD) were less likely to practice SMP compared to those with AHI (B 180,000Tsh) (aOR = 0.424, 95%CI = 0.214 – 0.840, P = 0.014).
Conclusion: The magnitude of SMP in Shinyanga Municipal was found to be high.SMP was significantly associated with level of education and average monthly household income. Strengthening of the community’s awareness on the side effects of SMP including antimicrobial resistance in the study area is recommended.