Prevalence of self-medication practices and its associated factors in rural Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Open accessAbstract
Background: Self-medication is an important concern for health authorities at global level. In developing countries like India most episodes of illnesses are treated by self-medication because of easy availability of a wide range of drugs commercially. Inadequate health services results in increased proportions of drugs used as self-medication compared to prescribed drug.Methods: Study design of it is a community based cross-sectional study. Study area of the study is rural field practice area, of Vydehi institute of medical sciences and research centre, Bengaluru. Study population is above the age group of 15 years. A total of 269 subjects in the rural area of Vydehi institute of medical sciences and research centre were selected by systematic random sampling method. Subjects were interviewed by using a pre-tested and semi-structured questionnaire after obtaining informed oral consent. Information regarding socio-demographic details, self-medication in the past one year and associated factors were collected.Results: 26.8% of study population were aged between 26-35 years, out of which 49.4% were males and 50.6% were females, 39.8% had high school level of education, 44.2% were house wives,72.1% belonged to class I socio-economic status, 97% belonged to Hindu community. Out of the total population, 109 (40.5%) were practicing self-medication. 38.2% were taking medication five or more times in a year.Conclusions: Self-medication is an important health issue in this area. Health education of the public and regulation of pharmacies may help in limiting the self-medication practices. There may be a larger role for a training programme to empower people about safety and side effects of SM use, to achieve a greater sense of self control.
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Analgesics such as paracetamol and ibuprofen are frequently used to relieve pain and discomfort associated with common complaints like headaches, muscle aches, and menstrual cramps.
“Analgesics, such as paracetamol and ibuprofen, are frequently used to relieve pain and discomfort associated with common complaints like headaches, muscle aches, and menstrual cramps.37,38”
From Prevalence and patterns of self-medication practices in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [38]
The Findings related to usage of self-medication (p. 1484) report that analgesics were the most widely used drugs (59.63%), and the Discussion names paracetamol and mentions headache and joint pain. Our copy does not identify ibuprofen or report muscle aches or menstrual cramps as reasons for use. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Rathod, P., Sharma, S., Ukey, U., Sonpimpale, B., Ughade, S., Narlawar, U., Gaikwad, S., Nair, P., Masram, P., & Pandey, S. (2023) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.33917 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Prevalence and patterns of self-medication practices in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Chaudhary, V., Kumari, S., Sharma, B., Ahuja, C., Kishore, H., & Pal, B. (2025) · Medical Journal Armed Forces India · doi:10.1016/j.mjafi.2024.11.008 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- I., H., S., S., Jayan, M., & Hussain, C.
- ORCID
- Jayan, Mini
- Venue
- International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health
- Publisher
- Medip Academy
- Published
- 2016
- Pages
- 1481-1486
- ISSN
- 2394-6032 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2409181414
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 0.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
- Keywords
- self-medication, prevalence, associated factors, rural population, Bangalore, sociodemographic factors, health education, pharmacy regulation, drug use
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