COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda
Introduction: Self-medication is one of the elements of self-care, which the World Health Organization (WHO) defines as the selection and use of medicines to treat selfidentified symptoms or ailments without consulting a physician. Self-medication is a worldwide public health concern, and the COVI...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
African Field Epidemiology Network
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/46/full/ |
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| Summary: | Introduction: Self-medication is one of the elements of self-care, which the World
Health Organization (WHO) defines as the selection and use of medicines to treat selfidentified symptoms or ailments without consulting a physician. Self-medication is a
worldwide public health concern, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated it.
Uganda was hit by two waves from April to June 2021, the second of which was more
severe, resulting in lockdowns and quarantine. Effective COVID-19 treatments were
difficult to obtain in Africa, and government treatment guidelines focused on symptom
management. This increased the likelihood of self-medication practices in
communities battling COVID-19 symptoms, especially slums. We identified selfmedication practices for COVID-19 prevention, treatment, and management among
Jinja City slum dwellers so that appropriate educational, regulatory, and
administrative measures could be developed to address this public health challenge.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among urban slum dwellers
randomly selected from slums in Jinja city. Households were proportionately recruited
from the slums and an adult who had self-medicated for COVID-19 during 2021 was
enrolled from each household. An electronic semi-structured interviewer-administered
questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. The data were imported into
STATA version 14.0 for analysis. Self-medication practices for COVID-19 were also
reported as frequencies and proportions using univariate analysis. Results: More than
half, 58.1% (262/451) of the respondents reported using concoctions, 52.6% (237/451)
used conventional medicine, and 41.2% (186/451) reported using herbal medicine for
self-medication of COVID-19. Among the respondents who used concoctions, 95.0%
(249/262) drank boiled concoctions, 68.3% (179/262) steamed concoctions. Among
the 237 respondents who used conventional medicine 69.6% (165/237) self-medicated
with vitamin C, 57.8% (137/237) with azithromycin, 55.7% (132/237) with
paracetamol, and 54.9% (130/237) with zinc tablets. Conclusion: Majority of the slum
dwellers self-medicated with conventional medicines or with herbal concoctions for
COVID-19 prevention or treatment. The agents used for self-medications included
antibiotics and potentially toxic agents. Pharmaceutical regulatory agents and public
health agencies should conduct routine public awareness campaigns about the dangers
of irrational drug use. |
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| ISSN: | 2664-2824 |