Tendency of Self-Medication among Various Malaysian Ethnicities
Danish Muzaffar
Faculty of Dentistry, SEGi University, Malaysia.
Haydar M. Mahdey
Faculty of Dentistry, SEGi University, Malaysia.
Donni Sonjaya
Faculty of Dentistry, SEGi University, Malaysia.
Muhammad Sohail Zafar *
College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Madinah Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: Self-medication has been observed in all kinds of societies regardless of region, religion, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. It is practiced by individuals as part of self-care for preventing or curing diseases. The main objective of this study is to assess the number of individuals involved in usage of over the counter drugs in Malaysia; as well as to assess if certain races in Malaysian population are more inclined towards the use of medication without prescription.
Study Design: Cross sectional descriptive study.
Methodology: A number of patients selected randomly from the outpatient department of SEGi University hospital, Malaysia participated in the study. Data was collected using a simple questionnaire. A total of 315 patients (166 male and 159 female) participated in the research and completed the designed questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed statistically using SPSS 20.0; appropriate statistical tests (Chi-Square and Fisher exact test) were applied. The P value (<0.01) was considered significant.
Results: In total, self-medication was practiced by 16.2% of participants. The trend was slightly higher in males (9.2%) than female participants (6.99%). Regarding ethnicity, the highest tendency was reported by patients of Indian origin. In Malaysian population, herbal medications were the most popular (66.66%), for the purpose of self-medication followed by allopathic drugs (22.22%). Considering the types of allopathic medications, oral analgesics remain the most popular drugs (60.56%) for self-medication among patient of all ethnicities.
Conclusion: The trend of self- medication is relatively less popular among Malaysians. However, a few individuals reported of practicing self-medication occasionally.
Keywords: Herbal medication, Oral analgesics, Self-care.