%0 Journal Article
%T Self-Medication Practices with Antibiotics among Tertiary Level Students in Accra, Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study
%A Eric S. Donkor
%A Patience B. Tetteh-Quarcoo
%A Patrick Nartey
%A Isaac O. Agyeman
%J International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
%D 2012
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/ijerph9103519
%X The study was carried out to estimate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among tertiary level students in Accra (Ghana) and evaluate factors associated with the practice. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study and involved face-to-face interviews of 600 respondents selected by convenient sampling. Prevalence of self medication was 70% (95% CI: 66.3每73.7), and the practice was significantly lower among medically inclined students (OR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1每0.4, p < 0.001). Among the respondents who practiced self medication, the most common frequency of antibiotic usage was at intervals of one month (30%, 95% CI: 25.6每34.4%), and the most common antibiotic used was amoxacillin (23.9%, 95% CI: 21.0每26.8%). Treatment failure were reported by 35% (95% CI: 30.5每39.6%) of the respondents, and the main reasons cited for self medication were that, it was less expensive compared to medical care in the hospital andˋsecondly, medical care in hospitals were associated with long delays. Forty nine percent (95% CI: 44.2每53.8%) of the respondents had poor knowledge about the health implications of irrational use of antibiotics, and 46% (95% CI: 41.2每50.8%) did not comply with the completion of the full course of antibiotics. Self medication among tertiary students in Accra is an important public health problem and this may reflect the situation among tertiary students in the whole of Ghana.
%K self medication
%K antibiotics
%K Ghana
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/9/10/3519