Abstract:
Self-medication is the most common practice worldwide and it may lead to irrational use of drugs. Therefore, this study
aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and its associated factors among health science students. A crosssectional study was conducted on 600 health science students in Gondar town. The data regarding self-medication practice
and its associated factors were collected using a face-to-face interview on a structured questionnaire. SPSS −24 was used for
data analysis and explained with univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the factors associated
with self-medication practice (sex, age, religion, marital status, residence, department, year of study, monthly income, access
to pharmacy, and peer/family pressure). A total of 554 students responded to the questionnaire with a response rate of
92.3%. Out of 554 respondents, 78.2% were practiced self-medication. Headache/fever 37.88% (n=164) was reported as the
most common complaint to practice self-medication. Among the reasons for self-medication practice, similarity of symptoms
with past illness 33.49% (n=145) was the most frequently reported. In current study, Females (AOR=3.11, 95% CI=1.55,
6.25), Muslim followers (AOR=2.78, 95% CI=1.30, 5.91), Protestant followers (AOR=4.25, 95% CI=1.38, 13.07), pharmacy
students (AOR=3.72, 95% CI=1.97, 9.30), clinical nursing students (AOR=2.88, 95% CI=1.87, 14.48), monthly income
(>500ETB) (AOR=2.49, 95% CI=1.12, 5.56), distance of health institution (<30min) (AOR=2.79, 95% CI=1.39, 5.61), and
accessibility of pharmacy (AOR=4.85, 95% CI=2.08, 11.29) were the independent predictors of self-medication practice.
Self-medication is common in health science students in Gondar town. Health professionals should educate students on the
risks and benefits of self-medication to encourage responsible self-medication. National guidelines on medicine access should
be developed and strong measures should be implemented to halt the selling of medications without a proper prescription
