FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR SELF MEDICATION AMONG THE INDIGENES OF EKOSODIN
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FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR SELF MEDICATION AMONG THE INDIGENES OF EKOSODIN
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that contribute to self-medication among indigenes of the Ekosodin community in Benin City.
The review of related literature was conducted using known works in the fields of self-medication and self-care.
A 20-item questionnaire was used to determine the various variables influencing their decision to practise self-medication. The data collected was evaluated using frequency and percentages.
The study’s findings revealed that a lack of access to health services and facilities, poor implementation and enforcement of drug laws and policies, and the unavailability and ineffective dissemination of drug information to members of the community were the primary causes of self-medication among community members.
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
Background Of the Study
Self-medication has been increasingly popular around the world in recent years. People are increasingly taking responsibility for their own health, which is contributing to this trend. On the other hand, social security is insufficient and unable to meet rising costs, which supports the idea of self-medication due to financial considerations.
The study is being conducted in Ekosodin, a tiny hamlet in the Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Because of its proximity to the University of Benin campus, it is primarily populated by students and faculty members.
The community’s indigenous people are largely farmers, tiny traders, and artisans like carpenters, hairdressers, tailors, welders, and so on.
In general, people prefer to buy over-the-counter drugs from pharmacies rather than go to the hospital to see a doctor for a diagnosis and prescription. As a result, some pharmaceuticals have been reclassified as over-the-counter drugs rather than prescription drugs.
As a result, those with lesser symptoms do not need to see a doctor because they can get guidance and medicine for their condition at the pharmacy.
This goes on to say that the chemist’s consulting role is becoming more prominent, providing the doctor more time to focus on serious problems.
Excessive drug intake is a serious health concern in health care, as it can lead to additional health issues and circumstances such as drug dependence, addiction, and tolerance.
This has become prevalent and rampant in both industrialised and developing societies today. It can be controlled if drug distribution is carefully limited to certified pharmacies with registered pharmacists.
Drug producers, on the other hand, have not helped the situation because their primary concern is to increase sales of medications and products without providing enough information to the public about such pharmaceuticals, preferably in their native language.
This is exacerbated by high illiteracy rates, poverty, and insufficient health facilities and workers. In affluent countries with enough health personnel and, in some cases, facilities, many people continue to purchase non-dangerous drugs without a doctor’s prescription. This habit of self-medication transcends culture, gender, health, and any other socio-demographic or socio-medical status.
However, self-medication is a public health concern due to the prevalence of drug misuse and abuse, as well as the associated medical (drug resistance and hypersensitivity), social (juvenile delinquency), and psychological (addiction and physical dependency) issues.
Furthermore, a lack of knowledge about the potential side effects of self-administered medication, as well as the sale of potentially dangerous drugs as over-the-counter drugs and nostrums, particularly in developing and underdeveloped countries, may have a negative impact on the community’s overall health.
This study aims to identify the influencing elements responsible for people’s self-medication behaviour, utilising indigenes and residents of Ekosodin as a case study, so that solutions for its control can be proposed at the least minimum.
Statement of the Problem
Self-medication has recently become an issue in the community at large, despite the fact that it has advantages and plays an important role in self-care. Many people find it more convenient to go to a pharmacy, chemist, medicine store, or herbalist to acquire drugs to alleviate any discomfort or health concern they are suffering.
In other cases, they would rather seek health-related advice from friends, neighbours, colleagues, family members, classmates, acquaintances, and so on, or rely on previous knowledge gained from similar experiences to the one they are currently experiencing, than visit a doctor or health-care professional for advice, a check-up, a test and diagnosis, or a prescription.
As a result, many people have found themselves in worse health situations than before, with untreated symptoms or even life-threatening diseases. Others develop physical dependence and addiction to these medicines as a result of their free access to them.
Also, self-medication has contributed to a rise in drug misuse and abuse. A variety of factors can contribute to these results. This study aims to shed light on these variables so that appropriate solutions can be implemented.
Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:
Are community members’ self-medication behaviours due to a lack of access to health facilities and services?
Are poor implementation and enforcement of drug laws and rules governing the sale of prescription and non-prescription medicines in the community to blame for people’s self-medication practices?
Are the community’s self-medication behaviours due to a lack of drug information and inefficient dissemination?
Is it the community’s preference for traditional medicine over orthodox medicine that accounts for their self-medication practices?
The purpose of the study
The study’s goal is to identify the elements that contribute to the prevalence of self-medication in order to propose solutions for its control and regulation in the immediate community, nation, and world at large.
Significance of the Study
The findings or data from this study will serve as a guide for Health Educators in dealing effectively with the practice of self-medication. It will also serve as a background or foundation for future research in this area.
Limitation of the Study
This study focusses on the factors that influence the practice of self-medication among contemporary members of the Ekosodin community. All information or data to be collected must come from current residents of the neighbourhood.
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