Title

Self-medication among Indian medical undergraduates: Knowledge, attitude, practice and impact of teaching pharmacology

Authors

Jhanvi J. Vaghela^1,*, Sanskruti Kocheta², Koustubh Swarnkar², Lakshay Jain² & Adesh Khavate²

Affiliation

¹Department of Pharmacology, Dr. N. D. Desai Faculty of Medical Science and Research, Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad 387001, Gujarat, India; ²Smt. B. K. Shah Medical Institute and Research Centre, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, Piparia, Waghodia, Vadodara, Gujarat, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Jhanvi J. Vaghela - E-mail: jhanvikasundra.medical@ddu.ac.in; drjhanvivaghela91@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9428991870
Sanskruti Kocheta - E-mail: kochetasanskruti@gmail.com
Koustubh Swarnkar - E-mail: koustubeswarnikar11@gmail.com
Lakshay Jain - E-mail: lakshayjain@gmail.com
Adesh Khavate - E-mail: khavateadesh@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received August 1, 2026; Revised August 31, 2026; Accepted August 31, 2026, Published August 31, 2026

Abstract

Self-medication is a common public health concern, and medical students are particularly prone to it because of their medical knowledge and easy access to medications. Therefore, it is of interest to assess the prevalence, pattern, knowledge and attitudes regarding self-medication among 294 Indian medical students. Overall, 76.9% of students’ practised self-medication, with a higher prevalence among first-year students; analgesics and antipyretics were the most commonly used drugs, while antibiotic self-medication was more frequent among first-year students. Minor illnesses such as cough and the common cold were the main reasons for self-medication, with family and friends being the primary sources of information and pharmacies the main source of medicines. Thus, data show that pharmacology education may promote more rational medication practices, particularly by reducing inappropriate antibiotic use, highlighting the need for educational interventions to encourage responsible self-medication.

Keywords

Self-medication, medical students, rational drug use

Citation

Vaghela et al. Bioinformation 22(8): 5137-5142 (2026)

Edited by

P Kangueane

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.