도시지역 일부 주부들의 자가투약 실태와 관련요인

Abstract

This study is to identify the current status of self-medication of housewives who have had experiences of self-medication for the last one year and analyse its factors to disclose their relations. To survey the recognition on instruction of pharmacists about medication, this study prepared self-reporting type questionnaire, targeting 600 housewives who are above twenties and have had self-medication for the past one year living in Gwangju city from September 15. 2005 to September 30. 2005. The results are presented as follows: Of the subjects who have had self-medication experience for the past one year, the ones who are self-medicated for the last two weeks were 24.6%. In respect to self-medication, most of the subjects bought medicine at pharmacy and relied on self-medication because the disease is not serious. The past experience of medication and advice from doctors or pharmacists were main influential factors on self-medication. A digestive, a pain pill, and cold tablets were the main subjects medicine of self-medication. This study found that the subjects learned information on self-medication through a manual. They read little or never the instructions because they already know how to use or the contents are complicating. In terms of economy, convenience, remedial effects and reliability, they were generally satisfied. For the last one year, 16.3% of the self-medicated subjects for the last one year and 13.5% of the subjects who had experiences of self-medication recently has side-effects. When a side-effect occurred, most of the stopped the medication. The instruction on medication was generally given, but it is not enough. Most of the instruction was about how to use the medicine and pharmacists' anxiety on purchasing of other medicine was thought to be obstacle to active instruction of medication. In respect to the instruction of medication, they complained about limited contents and asked more detailed information on side effects and effects of medication. Through the analysis, this study identified self-medication for recent two weeks and the relations between variables. As the subjects made more effort to maintain health, the rate of self-medication was significantly high (p=0.049). The grade of knowledge of the groups who were self-medicated on medicine was 5.0± 1.6, and that of the group who were not self-medicated was 4.6± 1.7. There was a significant difference (p=0.022). As frequency of the instruction on how to medicate by pharmacists was higher, self-medication rate was significantly high (p=0.022). However, attention to age, education, number of families, job, income, exercise, drinking, health, information on health, understanding on the instruction and help for instruction were not significantly related. In conclusion, this study found that 24.6 % of the housewives had experiences of self-medication for recent two weeks and 100% of the subjects had experiences of self-medication for the last one year. When self-medication is attempted, this study suggests that knowledge on medicine and drugs should be properly given, and pharmacists should provide higher-quality medication service and information as main information providers. However, this study suggests that further research on factors which are demonstrated to have relations with self-medication and induce proper self-medication behaviors are needed.