Antibiotictherapy and Self Medication: A Common Practice Among Students of a Biomedicine Course in a Higher Education Institution

Abstract

Self-medication habit of antibiotics contributes to the bacterial resistance mechanism, which is a global public health problem that must be prevented. The university student, as a future health professional, is summoned to guide a conduct and report on the use of antimicrobials regarding the casual agent, the site of infection and the severity of the disease. In this study, it has been verified, through a questionnaire, the profile of freshmen and academic students who are majoring in Biomedical Science in an institution of higher education, comparing the results obtained. It is a descriptive study with quantitative data approach (relative frequency – %) through a self-administered questionnaire, and containing 13 multiple choice questions stored in the database in Excel. The sample consisted of 132 undergraduate students from the Biomedical Science course from this University Center. Among the freshmen, the purchase of antibiotic is mainly influenced by previous experiences with the drug, what is not repeated by the students that are graduating and prefer to seek and follow medical advice. Thus, 91.8% of trainees believe that self-medication may be harmful to health. Regarding the use of anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic before the use of antibiotics, 67% of the entering students said that they take these medications, against 70% of the senior students that also do it. Therefore, we may conclude that information on the danger of self-medication is provided in the disciplines of microbiology and pharmacology, which have not been studied by the freshmen and is unknown by the general population, that appeals to self-medication due to the lack of knowledge. To reverse this situation, it is necessary a greater media exposure on educational practices regarding the risks, the benefits, and elucidation about multi-resistant bacteria.