Prevalence and determinants of self-medication in urban and rural women

Objective To explore current situation and influence factors of self-medication among urban and rural women,and to provide evidences for relevant strategy-making.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted in 1 369 female persons over 18 years old with interception survey method in urban and rural areas of Xinxiang municipality between June and August 2015.SAS 9.2 software was applied for statistical analysis of the data.Results There were 31.75%,25.97%,25.86% of the women living in cities,counties,and towns or villages reporting self-medication and the major reason for the self-medication was the self-perceived mild condition of the illness,which was reported by 59.33%,58.36%,and 57.56% of the women living in cities,counties,and towns or villages,respectively.The most basis for self-medication was the own experience,which was reported by 47.78%,48.84%,and 41.95% of the women living in cities,counties,and towns or villages.There was a significant difference in the ratio of not reading instruction before having self-medication among the women living in cities(33.52%),counties (42.15%),and towns or villages(40.80%)(χ²=14.365 9,P=0.006 2).There were also significant differences in behaviors relevant to purchasing and taking medicine among the women living in different regions,except for in paying attention to production date and validity period of the medicine and purchasing medicine according the recommendation of shopping guide.The scores for cognition on self-medication were influenced by residential region,education level,marital status,and family income among the women.Conclusion The prevalence of self-medication was high but the awareness rate of safe self-medication was low and behaviors relevant to self-medication were influenced by residential region,education level,marital status and family monthly income among urban and rural adult women in Henan province,suggesting that specific health education on self-medication should be implemented by governmental agencies in populations with various characteristics.