AUTOMEDICATION IN STUDENTS OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF CUYO IN SAN LUIS, ARGENTINA, ON DECEMBER 2021

Abstract

Abstract: Many investigations have been published on topics that involve university students, mainly from health careers, in relation to self-medication. However, in Argentina, these are scarce or a few years old. For this reason, the objective of this study is to describe the prevalence of self-medication in students of the careers of the Catholic University of Cuyo in San Luis, Argentina, during December 2021. Regular students of the careers belonging to the faculties of the university, who decided to answer the survey, sent to their institutional emails from Google Forms. The population was 209 students, of which 84 % were women, with an average age of 23 years, a large part of the medical career (42 %) and the first year of the course (24 %). 121 students, consumed some type of drug, without the consent of a health professional. The main reason for consumption was because they had previously learned the usefulness of the medicine, which was acquired for the most part in pharmacies, based on previous advice from doctors. The most used drugs were analgesics, mainly to calm the headache, which managed to resolve the cause. 83% did not suffer any consequences. Regarding the consumption of alcohol together with drugs or the modification of already established treatments, the majority admitted not doing so. In conclusion, according to the results, it was possible to observe the prevalence of self-medication in university students in San Luis, Argentina.

Key words: Pharmaceutical Preparations, Self Medication, Students, Argentina. Source: DeCS/MeSH.