Self medication, properties and effective factors among Başkent University students

Self-medication is a part of self-care, and also is a practice in which the patients contribute to health-related decisions. It is considered that self medication reduces the burden on health services, shortens the time spent on waiting for the physicians, and be cost-saving in especially economically poor countries with limited health resources. In this research, aim is to explore the general attitudes and behaviors of college students regarding self medication, and to determine the contributing causes of these. The survey is conducted by the participation of 494 Başkent University undergraduates, who are selected via stratifed sampling as a result of power analysis. The prevalence rate of the students who participated this research is established to be %81.6. %90.2 of the participants pointed out that headaches are the main reason they take medications without consulting the doctor, while %93.6 stated that painkillers are the group of self medication that they take. Self medication should be accepted as a normal and convenient part of public health, and has many advantages through both patients' and physicians' perspectives. Doctors play an substantial part on minimizing the risk and increasing potential benefits.