Factors Associated with Self-Medication in the VAP Health Area of Kampemba Health District in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) defines responsible self-medication as the practice by which individuals treat ailments and conditions with medicines that are approved and available without a prescription and that are safe and effective once times used according to instructions. The objective of this work is to contribute to the fight against self-medication by the population of the VAP health area of the Kampemba health district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study and the population of our study is made up, on the one hand, of 176 heads of households from the VAP health area of the Kampemba health district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The data was collected using a questionnaire. Results: The following results were observed: Sex (p = 0.04), marital status (p = 0.04) and level of education (p = 0.001) are factors associated with self-medication; the most represented age group was that between 33 and 37 years old (52/176) or 29.55% followed by 28 and 32 (26/176) or 14.77%. And, the average age was 41 years old; the female gender was dominant (53%); 74.43% were married followed by 21 or 11.93% single; 60 heads of households or 34.09% were state agents compared to 38 or 21.59% in the private sectors; 20.83% of household heads had consumed more anti-inflammatories and painkillers with 58.3% compared to 2.5% with anti-infectives. Out of 176 heads of households, it appears that 120 heads of households practiced self-medication. Conclusion: Self-medication remains a major public health problem. Regulations in the purchase of medicines as well as awareness raising remain necessary to fight against this practice which has many consequences including drug poisoning and resistance to antibiotics.