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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African Field Epidemiology Network
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/46/full/ |
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| author | Prossy Nakito Arnold Tigaiza Emmanuel Obuya Geofrey Musinguzi Dathan Byonanebye |
| author_facet | Prossy Nakito Arnold Tigaiza Emmanuel Obuya Geofrey Musinguzi Dathan Byonanebye |
| author_sort | Prossy Nakito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6760e2fb2f4b45a2aa9a07b76c2c49c7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2664-2824 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | African Field Epidemiology Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-6760e2fb2f4b45a2aa9a07b76c2c49c72025-08-20T03:12:57ZengAfrican Field Epidemiology NetworkJournal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health2664-28242024-10-0174https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph.2024.7.4.137COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, UgandaProssy Nakito0Arnold Tigaiza1Emmanuel Obuya2Geofrey Musinguzi3Dathan Byonanebye4Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; Department of Public Health, Jinja City, UgandaDepartment of Health Policy Planning and Management, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaDepartment of Health Policy Planning and Management, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaDepartment of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, UgandaKirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaIntroduction: 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.https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/46/full/self-medication practicescovid-19 pandemiccomplementary medicine |
| spellingShingle | Prossy Nakito Arnold Tigaiza Emmanuel Obuya Geofrey Musinguzi Dathan Byonanebye COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health self-medication practices covid-19 pandemic complementary medicine |
| title | COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda |
| title_full | COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda |
| title_short | COVID-19 self-medication practices among slum dwellers in Jinja City, Uganda |
| title_sort | covid 19 self medication practices among slum dwellers in jinja city uganda |
| topic | self-medication practices covid-19 pandemic complementary medicine |
| url | https://www.afenet-journal.net/content/article/7/46/full/ |
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