Self-Medication Among Pharmacy Students: A Cross-Sectional Study on Prevalence, Patterns, and Determinants

Background: Constraint-induced movement therapy is used to improve upper-limb recovery after stroke, Background: Self-medication is common among university students, particularly those enrolled in health-related disciplines. Pharmacy students may be more likely to self-medicate because academic exposure to pharmacology and therapeutics can increase confidence in selecting medicines without professional consultation. Inappropriate self-medication, especially antibiotic use without prescription, may contribute to adverse drug reactions, delayed treatment, drug interactions, and antimicrobial resistance. Objective: To determine the prevalence, patterns, reasons, medication classes, sources of information, and socio-demographic associations of self-medication among pharmacy students at Shahida Islam Medical College, Lodhran, Pakistan. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 263 pharmacy students using a structured questionnaire. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Frequencies and percentages were calculated, and chi-square tests were used to assess associations between self-medication practice and selected socio-demographic variables. Results: Self-medication was reported by 165 students, giving a prevalence of 62.7%. Physicians were the most frequently reported source of medication information (63.1%). The leading reasons were prior experience with illness (64.6%), drug availability (60.1%), and saving time (57.0%). Headache (74.5%) and common cold (71.9%) were the most frequently reported conditions, while common cold medicines (67.3%) and antibiotics (65.4%) were the most frequently reported medication classes. No statistically significant association was found between self-medication and age, gender, marital status, residence, habitation, or health insurance status. Conclusion: Self-medication was common among pharmacy students, with frequent reported antibiotic use highlighting a public health concern. Educational interventions, antimicrobial stewardship training, and stronger prescription-only medicine regulation are needed