[01] Nashvinder Kaur Maan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Shavindu Imendra Piyadasa, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Kavithevan Vasuthevan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Jonathan Wee Tze Sheng, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Nur Liyana Binti Osman, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Melaka, Malaysia.

The study was done to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of self-medication among medical students of Melaka Manipal Medical College. A pre-validated questionnaire was distributed among the medical students and 167 participants answered the questionnaire. Knowledge and attitude were expressed in percentage and divided into 3 categories, good, moderate and poor. Microsoft Excel and Epi-info were used to analyse the data. Among the 167 participants, 104 (62.3%) were females and 63 (37.7%) were males. The mean age in years was 22.5 ± 1. Majority of the participants, 128 (76.7%), practiced self-medication in the past 2 years while 39 (23.4%) did not. They acquire their drugs mainly from medical stores and their source of information is mainly previous prescription. The participants found self-medication to be time saving and they do not find it necessary to visit the doctor for minor illness. They also find it easy and convenient and a quick relief to their symptoms. The important disadvantages found among them were the risk of adverse effects and the risk of using wrong drugs. The most common indications for self-medication were to relieve symptoms of cough, cold and sore throat, followed by fever and headache. Analgesics and lozenges were the most common drug used among the participants. Majority of the participants had moderate knowledge, 48% and good attitude, 42.5% towards self-medication. The study showed that practice of self-medication is common among medical students and that knowledge and attitude plays a role in it.

Self Medication, Malaysia, Medical Students, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice

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