Prevalence of self-medication Practices in the urban areas of Belagavi, karnataka; a community Based study

Abstract

Objective This study aims to evaluate the frequency of self-medication and identify the sociodemographic characteristics associated with self-medication practices among the urban population of Belagavi, Karnataka. Method A community-driven cross-sectional study was conducted for a duration of one year, from October 2022 to September 2023. The study had a total of 400 participants, who were systematically selected from the urban field practice areas of Rukmini Nagar UHC and Ashok Nagar UHC. The data were collected via face-toface interviews using a self-designed questionnaire that had been previously verified xi and tested. The questionnaire consisted of parts that focused on demographic information, self-medication trends, types of medicines used, sources of medicine, reasons for self-medication, and health insurance coverage. The collected data was analysed with SPSS version 25.0, employing descriptive statistics to succinctly characterize the data. Furthermore, a chi-square test was used to ascertain significant associations between sociodemographic factors and the practice of self-medication.