West Afr J Med. 2026 Apr 30;43(1):14-21.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Self-medication with antibiotics is a threat to global health and is becoming increasingly observed in both developed and developing countries with prevalence of 32.5 – 81.5% worldwide. This study assessed the socio-demographic, economic factors and use of antibiotic self-medication among dwellers in River State, South-south, Nigeria.
METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study among 250 patients who attended the Family Medicine Clinic at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Chi-Square test was used to assess the association between socio-demographic and economic characteristics with antibiotic self-medication. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: Majority of the respondents were females (65.2%), were within the age group of 20-39 years (59.2%) and had tertiary level of education (64.0%), while about 2.8% had no formal education. The overall prevalence of antibiotic self-medication was 75.2%, males (81.6%) self-medicated more than the females (71.8%) and all the respondents with no formal education (100%) practiced self-medication. The association between self-medication and educational status was statistically significant with a p-value of 0.004. The antibiotic most frequently used for self-medication in this study was Ampiclox (Ampicillin plus Cloxacillin) -an antibiotic class of the Penicillin.
CONCLUSION: Self-medication with antibiotics is still prevalent and was associated with a person’s educational level. There is need for tailored educational programs to advocate for appropriate antibiotic utilization to mitigate this prevalent misuse.
PMID:42177752
