Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Research Abstract Details 

Research Abstract Table of Contents

Jump to the:

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Abstract Text:

BACKGROUND: Prescription of medicines by non-doctors is an issue with serious global implications. To our knowledge prescription of drugs by medical and non-medical students has not been studied before. We aimed to determine the practice and attitudes of drug prescription by medical students and: a) how non-medical students respond to this practice, b) How this compares with the attitudes and practices of non-medical students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 600 students randomly selected from 2 medical and 2 non-medical universities. Ethical requirements were ensured and data was collected using self administered questionnaires. The Chi square tests and logistic univariate regression analyses were performed using SPSS v 14 to identify associations and differences. RESULTS: A total of 572 forms were completed and the sample consisted of 295 medical students and 277 non-medical students with no significant difference in their demographic profile. Of the 295 medical students 163 (55.3%) had prescribed a medicine independently and most (48.5%) said that they did this 2-3 times a year. The commonest reasons for this were 'previous experience' (68.7%), 'problem too trivial' (34.4%) and 'we knew everything about the condition' (31.3%). One-third (33.6%) of the undergraduate medical students thought that it was alright to independently diagnose an illness while a vast majority (78.3%) thought that it was alright for them to prescribe medicines to others. Common prescriptions were pain-killers, antipyretics, antiallergics and antibiotics. Medical students who prescribed medicines were of lesser age (CI = 1.366-1.887) and more likely to belong to the 1st (CI = 3.588-21.731), 2nd (CI = 2.059- 10.869) or 3rd (CI = 4.331-26.374) year of medical college. One-third (33.9%) of the non-medical students reported that a medical student had prescribed medicines to them and 21.3% said that they trusted medical students and would follow their advice blindly. Many students thought it alright for medical students to diagnose and treat illnesses. A similar proportion of non-medical students (58.5%) reported prescribing medicines to others. CONCLUSION: Prescription of medicines by non-doctors is rampant and urgent corrective measures are warranted. We have highlighted areas for future research and intervention and have given a few recommendations.

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Publishing Authors By Initials

For similar abstracts research abstracts see: abstracts research

PUBMED ID PMID:

MEDLINE DATE:

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Journal Published:

PUBLICATION TYPE: Journal Article

Journal: BMC public health

VOLUME: 8

Page Numbers: 162

Journal Abbreviation:

ISSN: 1471-2458

DAY: 19

MONTH: 05

YEAR: 2008

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Information

Number of References:

LANGUAGE: eng

NlmUniqueID: 100968562

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Keywords Mesh Terms:

KEYWORDS:

MESH TERMS:

Chemical & Substance for Abstract: Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Information

Substance Name:

Registry Number:

Grant and Affiliation Information for Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.

AFFILIATION: Medical College, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan. zafar.nabeel@gmail.com

Country: England

AGENCY:

GRANT:

ACRONYM:

MEDLINETA: BMC Public Health

REFSOURCE:

DATABASENAME:

ACCESSION NUMBER:

Number Hits: 0

Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study Related Publications

• A study of newly diagnosed obese diabetics.
• Acquired amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenic purpura (AATP): a hospital based study.
• Aplastic anaemia evolving into myelodysplastic syndrome.
• Cross-resistance and genetics of resistance to indoxacarb in Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
• Delayed obstructive jaundice secondary to bullet in common hepatic duct.
• Digital imaging by parents: an aid to the diagnosis of inguinal hernia in infants and children.
• Down's syndrome: prospects for prevention by antenatal diagnosis.
• Emergency use of Eschlmann Stylet (tracheal tube introducer) in acute tracheo bronchial obstruction during general anesthesia.
• Epidemiology of epilepsy in Pakistan: review of literature.
• Genetics and mechanism of resistance to deltamethrin in a field population of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
• HIV surveillance data: limitations and uses.
• Isoniazid acetylation and polymorphism in humans.
• Lupus nephritis in children.
• Optimization of environmental parameters for biodegradation of alpha and beta endosulfan in soil slurry by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
• Organophosphate induced delayed polyneuropathy.
• Prenatal diagnosis of haemophilia-A: a basis for the Pakistani families.
• Prescription of medicines by medical students of Karachi, Pakistan: a cross-sectional study.
• Prevalence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in Pakistani thalassaemics by particle agglutination test utilizing C 200 and C 22-3 viral antigen coated particles.
• Prevalence of heterozygous beta-thalassemia in northern areas of Pakistan.
• Profile of viral hepatitis patients in Dakhliya, Oman.
• Self-medication amongst university students of Karachi: prevalence, knowledge and attitudes.
• Serum uric acid values in hypertension.
• Spirowallichiione: A Rearranged Multiflorane from Euphorbia wallichii Hook F. (Euphorbiaceae).
• The XVI International AIDS Conference: time to deliver.
• The effect of crude Cerastes cerastes gasperetti venom on the activity of key metabolic enzymes in cultured human fibroblasts.
• Torsion of appendices epiploicae of the colon: a case report.
• Treatment with amisulpride and olanzapine improve neuropsychological function in schizophrenia.
• Vibrational spectra and assignments of 3-aminobenzyl alcohol by ab initio Hartree-Fock and density functional method.
• Visceral leishmaniasis: a seroepidemiological study of 289 children from endemic foci in Azad Jammu and Kashmir by indirect fluorescent antibody technique.
• Which dialyser?