Proportion of Ophthalmic Self-Medication and Associated Factors among Adult Ophthalmic Patients Attending Borumeda Hospital, Dessie, Northeast Ethiopia

Self-medication with ophthalmic drugs and its associated factors among ophthalmic patients attending three hospitals in Asmara, Eritrea: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the prevalence and practice of self-medication and its associated factors among ophthalmic patients.

DESIGN

An analytical cross-sectional study design was employed.

SETTING

Three hospitals inAsmara, Eritrea.

PARTICIPANTS

Samples of ophthalmic outpatients aged >18 years who visited the three hospitals in Asmara, Eritrea. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Data were collected from September 2021 to October 2021 in a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were double entered and analysed using CSPro (V.7.2) and SPSS (V.26), respectively. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were performed. P values less than 0.05 were considered as significant.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Main outcome variable was practice of self-medication with ophthalmic drugs (SMOD). Secondary outcome measure was the determinants of self-medication practice.

RESULTS

A total of 351 participants were recruited with a response rate of 97.7%. The prevalence of SMOD was found to be 14.9% (95% CI (11.1% to 18.7%)). The most frequently preferred ophthalmic drug groups were antibiotics (63.6%), followed by corticosteroids (22.7%). The main reasons for SMOD were easy accessibility (52.9%) and previous familiarity of the eye medication (27.5%). Eye redness (n=19/51) and foreign body sensation (n=18/51) were the most self-recognised complaints that required self-medication. The most common source of information for SMOD was pharmacy professionals (41.1%). Only attitude score (Crude odds ratio (COR)= 1.25, 95% CI 1.12, 1.39) was significantly associated with the practice of SMOD at bivariate logistic regression.

CONCLUSION

Though the majority of respondents considered self-medication with ophthalmic drugs as inappropriate, a significant number of them practising it. This mandates relevant bodies to take stricter measures to protect the public from the misuse of eye medications.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Toward Self-Medicating Eye Symptoms in Saudi Arabia

Purpose

Self-medication is the selection and use of drugs by individuals to treat self-diagnosed diseases or symptoms. While some patients regard self-medicating as harmless, it is far from being a safe practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward self-medicating eye symptoms in Saudi Arabia.

Patients and Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online questionnaire on a study population that consisted of Saudi nationals aged 18 and older who were using or had previously used ophthalmic medications.

Results

Among the 524 responses obtained, 79.4% were female, and more than half were less than 40 years old. Participants admitting to practicing ophthalmic self-medication measured 62.4%. The most commonly self-prescribed ophthalmic medications were artificial tears (n=276), followed by antiallergic (n=57) and antibiotic medications (n=33). Many participants reported that the reason for self-treatment was for repeated and simple symptoms that did not require professional care. While approximately 51% showed high levels of knowledge about ophthalmic medications, no significant relationship was seen with their choice to self-medicate (P=0.153).

Conclusion

Despite detecting a high level of knowledge and acceptable practices and attitudes among participants, a high incidence of self-medication was observed. This effect was mostly attributed to long hospital waiting times and patient self-diagnosis. Increasing the number of healthcare units and properly educating patients on ophthalmic medications may help decrease the incidence of self-medication.