2025/07/06 by Oguche, Obielumani, Davids, Kellybest, Indiamaowei, Douye
Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Antibiotic Use and Resistance #Health facility #Hospital Staff #Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes #Pharmaceutical Quality and Counterfeiting #Self-medication #Southern Nigeria #Tertiary
paper · doi:10.71637/jphtr.vol3no1.41
openalex publication_date 2025/07/06 · openalex created_date 2025/11/07 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Self-medication is practiced globally, despite restrictions and effective regulation in some countries. This practice has been reported widely among healthcare providers, which could result in drug abuse and misuse.The study intended to assess the Self-medication practice amongst hospital staff in a tertiary health facility in Southern Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in November 2021, Participants were selected using simple random sampling following proportionate to size allocation. Data was collected from 288 staff members of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa using a semi-structured, pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire. Collected data were analysed with IBM Statistical Product and Service Solutions version 24.0. Test of significance between variables was done with Chi-square test, (p-Value <0.05). Results:Three hundred health professionals were selected for this study, 288 completed questionnaires were retrieved giving a response rate of 96.0%. A majority 184 (63.9%) of the participants were female, about a third 90 (31.3%) were nurses by profession and a vast majority 206 (71.5%) were clinical staff. Self-medication was reported in 172 (59.7%) of the study participants in the preceding year following this study. Factors that influenced self‑medication included their profession (pharmacist, Doctors and nurses) (χ2 = 42.763, P = 0.000), area of work (clinical staff) (χ2 = 28.272, P = 0.000), familiarity with diagnosis and treatment modalities (χ2 = 15.192, P = 0.000) and thinking they can assess their symptoms better than anyone else (χ2 = 8.488, P = 0.004). Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication was high among our study participants, particularly among the clinical staff; the pharmacist, Doctors and nurses. Creating awareness, educating the medical community and enforcing restrictions and regulations on access to prescription-only drugs could begin to reverse this harmful practice.