Association between Knowledge of Self Medication and Adherence among Medical Students in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Objective: To find the association between knowledge of self medication and adherence among the medical students in a private medical college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Material and methods: This descriptive crosssectional study was carried out among 204 medical students of Dr. Sirajul Islam Medical College, Dhaka from October to December 2016. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed for counts and percentages. Association between knowledge of self medication and adherence was assessed by using Chi square test. Results: Majority of the students (70%) disagree with practice of self medication. Eighty percent of them find medical knowledge necessary for self medication. Most of the students have knowledge about importance of completing the treatment schedule. There is a rising trend of knowledge level about the hazards of treatment discontinuation without doctor's advice, with final year students possessing maximum information. Adherence among 204 students are observed as, only 5.4% students never forget to take medicines, 18.6% do not change dose, frequency or course duration and 2.9% do not discontinue treatment without doctor's advice. 28.4% take doctor's advice when symptoms persist and 20.6% take when adverse effects occur. There was significant association between knowledge of self medication with adherence among the students (p<0.05). Conclusion: High level of knowledge of self medication is present among medical students associated with low level of adherence. Students must be motivated about the improvement of adherence to prove a positive influence of knowledge about self medication.