Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practice toward responsible self-medication among students of pharmacy colleges located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

INTRODUCTION: Responsible self-medication plays a vital role in appropriate use of nonprescription drugs which will improve safety and reduces unwanted effects of drugs.

AIM: This study is designed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward responsible self-medication among pharmacy students.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in pharmacy students of various colleges located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 403 pharmacy students were enrolled and subjected for interview using prevalidated KAP questionnaire on responsible self-medication.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were used to represent the sociodemographic characteristics and KAP levels. Association of socio-demographic variables with KAP levels are determined using the Chi-square test.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 403 pharmacy students are recruited in the study, in these 19 (4.7%) diploma in pharmacy, 260 (64.5%) bachelor in pharmacy, 27 (6.7%) master in pharmacy, and 97 (24.1%) are doctor of pharmacy. Among 403 respondents, 150 (37.2%) good knowledge, 397 (98.5%) positive attitude, and 170 (42.2%) practice toward responsible self-medication. Respondent's age, pharmacy division, residence, and their parents' profession were significantly associated with good knowledge and rational practice toward responsible self-medication with a P < 0.05.

CONCLUSION: The study concludes that pharmacy students are shown more positive attitude toward responsible self-medication. However, students are lack of knowledge and practice of responsible self-medication.