Self-medication in patients treated in a primary care unit

Introduction and objective: According to the World Health Organization (1998), self-medication is the “selection and use of medicine by individuals for the treatment of self-recognized diseases or symptoms”. There are several reasons for the increase of self-medication, such as publicity advertisements of nonprescription drugs, self-care, poverty and healthcare services limitations. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of patients cared by family health teams that use nonprescription medicines. Method: For this descriptive study, a questionnaire was used, with regard to education level, family income, use of prescription and nonprescription medicines, health condition, and use of health services. Patients who seek a family health unit in Ribeirão Preto – SP (Brazil) and used nonprescription medicines were interviewed. Results and conclusions: The questionnaire was applied to 49 patients, among which 26 (53%) were women and 23 (47%) were men. The acquired data revealed that 63,5% were married, 28,7% had graduated from high school, 63,55% had an average income of one minimum wage. 57,4% claimed to have good health conditions, followed by 20,5% who claimed to have very good health conditions. The main reason for the referred self-medication was headache (28,7%), followed by other kinds of pain (12,3%). The study suggests that self-medication is related to lower level of education and income, demanding the implementation of health-promoting actions for raising awareness towards the risks of such practice in such population.