Prevalence of self-medication practice among caregivers of children under 5 years of age visiting health institutions in Addis Ababa: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background : In the pediatric population, self-medication refers to the administration of medications by caregivers without physician consultation. The current study sought to determine the magnitude of self-medication and related factors among caregivers of under-5 children attending health institutions for their child’s illness.

Methods: We conducted an institution-based cross-sectional survey between September and December 2023. Data were collected from 263 caregivers using a piloted and pretested questionnaire tool and analyzed using SPSS software version 25 (IBM, USA) to generate descriptive and analytical statistics.  

Results: The prevalence of self-medication practice among the participants was 83%.  Two-thirds of the children were females. Eighty-five per cent of the caregivers were urban dwellers. Twenty-nine percent of the participants had a family member who is a health professional. Prior self-medication experience and the mildness of the illness were the most common reasons for self-medication. Analgesics and antipyretics made up 75.3% of self-medication drugs. The odds of self-medication for urban community (AOR = 7.57; 95% CI: 2.83-20.29), having family members in the medical professions (AOR = 6.29; 95% CI =1.62-24.47), having medical insurance (AOR = 4.1; 95% CI: 1.67-10.06), monthly income (AOR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.13-3.61), and child’s age (AOR = 1.03; 95% CI: = 1.00-1.06) were significantly associated with self-medication.

Conclusion: Self-medication practice was prevalent in all study settings. The major determinants were urban residency, family members in the medical profession, medical insurance, and monthly income.  Focused interventions to address self-medication  practice  among  urban communities, responsible medication use among health professionals, and those having medical insurance are highly recommended. Furthermore, the findings of the current study highlighted new insights within the changing population health dynamics relating to factors on self-medication. These factors have to be studied in bigger community-based studies, taking into account the limitations of the current study.