PREVALENCE OF SELF MEDICATION AMONG MBBS STUDENTS OF SHEIKH ZAYED MEDICAL COLLEGE, RAHIM YAR KHAN

Background: The prevalence of self-medication among medical students due to the virtue of their studying medicine is a significant issue. It can lead to various challenges including inappropriate symptom management and developing resistance to certain pharmaceutical drugs. Objective: The objective of this research was to determine the frequency of selfmedication among MBBS students of Sheikh Zayed Medical College Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: The study design for this research was Cross-sectional study. The study was conducted at Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan. Study subjects were five batches of MBBS within the age group of 19-25 and the duration was between August 15, 2023 to September 15, 2023. A sample size of 130 students were included in the study. Before the study, consent was taken from all subjects. The questionnaire was shared via WhatsApp groups to collect information with complete anonymity. The variables included age, gender, locality and questions were: involvement in self medication practice, frequency in the past one year, reasons, source of advice, illness,  complaints for medication, adverse effects, and if they had stopped it and consulted a doctor. This data was entered on SPSS and results were obtained in textural, graphical and tabular form. Results: The study showed that among 130 medical students, 107 (82.3%) had self-medicated. 65.4% did it because it was convenient. The mean age was 21.29. The most common reason was headache (63.6%) and second most prevalent reason was sore throat (59.8%). Most students (69.2%) selected the medicine based on their own experience and 58.9% did on the basis of a previous prescription. Over half of the subjects (57%) stopped using the medication once the symptoms were alleviated. Most students (72%) never had any adverse effects from self-medication. Conclusion: The prevalence of self-medication in students at Sheikh Zayed Medical College, Rahim Yar Khan is high as 82.3% of students have self-medicated. The common reasons for self-medication are headache and sore throat. Almost one-half of students stopped using the medication with alleviation of symptoms. Most students never had any adverse effects from self-medication