Evaluation of patients' knowledge and behaviors on rational drug use: Tekirdağ Süleymanpaşa Secondary Health Care Institutions sample

The aim of this study is to evaluate the knowledge and behaviors of patients, who applied to secondary health care facilities in Suleymanpasa District of Tekirdag, on rational drug use. In the first two chapters of the study, theoretical framework for rational drug use is drawn. In the field research part of the study, semi-structured interview method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, is used and the interviewees were reached by the snowball method among the individuals receiving service from secondary health care facilities in Süleymanpaşa District of Tekirdağ province. Drug use, drug storage conditions, unnecessary antibiotic use and printing habits, behaviors in case of drug side effects and treatment habits from the internet were evaluated by in-depth interviews. As a result of the study, it was seen that women have higher awareness levels than men in the issues listed here and participants with chronic diseases are more careful about rational drug use than the other participants. It has been seen that the habit of using non-prescription drugs increases as the education level increases, and that primary school graduates consult doctors about drug use more than the other interviewees. The level of knowledge about the interaction of diseases with foods and the destruction of outdated perishable drugs has been found out to be very low. It was concluded that the number and intensity of the information activities regarding the importance of rational drug use should be increased.