Self-Medication in Rural Northeastern Romania
Patients’ Attitudes and Habits
Bibliographic Data
In recent years, many healthcare systems, along with healthcare professionals, have provided services in a patient-centered manner, in which patients are key actors in the care process. Encouraging self-care creates responsible patients, but it must be practiced responsibly. This study aims to analyze the tendency towards self-medication for patients from a rural area in Northeastern Romania. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which consisted of 25 questions, that has been developed by the research team. Student's T test or one-way ANOVA was used, and the reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Fifty-eight patients agreed to participate and were interviewed. The results of the study suggest that respondents practice self-medication, which they resort to when their condition cannot be treated with natural remedies or herbs and when it impairs their ability to do their daily activities. Self-medication could be explained by the lack of self-care services as well as the trust patients have in the specific treatment. Patients prefer asking the pharmacist for drugs instead of visiting a physician, which could be due to higher accessibility and time-efficiency, while also being prone to stock up on certain medications due to limited access to healthcare
Cronbach's alpha · Family medicine · Health care · Health professionals · Pharmacist · Psychometrics · Rural area · Self-medication · Test (biology · Antibiotic Use and Resistance · Clinical Psychology · Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies · Medicine · Nursing · Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes · Psychology · Pharmacy
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |