Predisposing factors to the practice of self-medication in Brazil: Results from the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM)

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 12; p. e0189098
• Main Authors: Pons, Emilia da Silva, Knauth, Daniela Riva, Vigo, Álvaro, Mengue, Sotero Serrate
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 08-12-2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Adults; Census of Population; Data processing; Dentists; Drugs; Earth Sciences; Epidemiology; Familiarity; Health attitudes; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; People and places; Poisson density functions; Promotion; Public health; Regression analysis; Regression models; Robustness (mathematics); Self medication; Self-assessment; Social Sciences; Statistical analysis; Statistics; Studies; Urban areas; Brazil; Rio Grande do Sul Brazil
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189098

To understand the predisposing factors that lead to the practice of self-medication and the factors associated with the use of medicines via self-medication in the adult population of Brazil.
The analyzed data are part of the National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines (PNAUM), a survey whose population consisted of individual residents permanently domiciled in urban areas in Brazil. In this work, the data references the 31 573 respondents aged 20 or higher (76.2% of the final PNAUM sample). Poisson regression models with robust variance were used for estimating the independent effect of each variable with medicine use via self-medication.
Of the interviewees, 73.6% stated they had used some medication without medical recommendation if they had previously used the same product; 73.8% stated they had used non-prescribed medicine when the medicine was already present at home; and 35.5% stated they had used some non-prescribed medication when they knew someone who had already taken the same medication. The prevalence of self-medication was 18.3%. The variables associated with the highest probability of using medicine via self-medication were: geographic region within Brazil, gender, age group, per capita income, self-assessment of health, self-reported use of previously used non-prescribed medication, and self-reported use of non-prescribed medication when that medication was already present at home.
The use of medicines via self-medication in Brazil is relatively frequent and influenced by previous experience and familiarity with the medications, and is more common among women and individuals with low self-assessment of health.