Factors Influencing Self-medication Practices Among Adults in Urban Slum Households:

Abstract

Background- Medicines when used properly are the most effective substances for alleviating symptoms and curing ailments. However, it becomes disastrous when irrationally used as most of the symptoms and microbial that they are meant to alleviate and kill will develop resistance to the substances. Self-medication has been identified as the main form of irrational drug use in urban slums that is perpetuated by health care system factors and socioeconomic factors.

The Main Objective- This study was carried out to investigate the factors associated with self-medication practices among adults in households of Namuwongo Slum and suggests relevant recommendations for mitigation

Methods- This descriptive cross-sectional study was structured to investigate health care system factors, drug regulatory policies and the availability of some of these medicines in the market for individual’s disposal. The investigation was done among the households residing in one of the prominent slums of Kampala known as Namuwongo in Bukasa Parish in Makindye Division using interview guide/questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion. In the study 329 households were sampled from the two zones, A and B of Namuwongo Slum.

The result- This revealed prevalence of Self-medication at 72% of which the most common type of illnesses treated include; Respiratory tract infection (38.7%) Headache and Fever (24.8%), Gastro-intestinal disease (20.4%) and others (16.1%) with Antibiotics (49.2%) and painkillers (30.2%) being the most used Specific western medicines in self-medication in the urban slum.

Conclusions- Poor national regulatory policies and networks on pharmaceuticals dealings that avails the public with varieties of choices of drugs, Socioeconomic factors such as Income, Gender and Education level play great role in promoting extensive self-medication practices in the urban slums. So this investigation was timely enough to respond to the world-over medical experts’ concern, to imagine a new world without anti-microbial in the nearest future that will be worse than the pre-allopathic medicine period by suggesting life saving recommendations.

Recommendations- It is worthy recommending the Government at this point to regulate the operation of the private health facilities such as drug shops and Clinics, streets Drug vendors in order to protect the poor people from being conned to consume medicine indiscriminately.