Self-medication practices to prevent or treat COVID-19 during the pandemic. The case of a rural region of central Greece.

Nikolaos Vaitsis, Stamatina Aggelakou-Vaitsi, Konstantina Soultana Kitsou, Maria Bakola, Maria Drakopoulou, Konstantina Mavridou, Eleni Jelastopulu

Keywords: self-medication; COVID-19; pandemic; home remedies; non-prescription drugs

Background:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) self-medication is the selection and utilization of medicines to treat self-recognized symptoms or ailments without consulting a health provider. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear of contracting the virus may have led to self-medication practices among the general population worldwide.

Research questions:

The goal of the research is to evaluate patterns and factors that affect self-medication practices in a rural region of Greece during the pandemic.

Method:

A cross-sectional study using an online survey was developed, and it was distributed via social media platforms to the general population of the city of Farsala (central Greece). The survey evaluated the types of drugs and treatments used for self-medication, the causes of self-medication, and the variables influencing these practices.

Results:

A total of 782 people participated in the study, 50.1% were females—with mean age 47.5 years. The vast majority of the participants (90.3%) used at least one medication to treat or prevent COVID-19. Paracetamol (99.4%), vitamin D (90.8%), zinc (84.6%), and vitamin C (54.5%) were the most frequently used self-medication products. Smokers and female gender had significant correlations with self-medication (p<0.001). The use of pharmacists (p<0.001), internet searches like Google (p<0.001), TV (p<0.001), and social media (p<0.001) as information sources about self-medication drugs to prevent or treat COVID-19 were associated with a significantly higher percentage of self-medication use.

Conclusions:

Our study identified the self-medication prevalence, the medications and the dietary supplements used during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as, the reasons for their use. By actively participating in debunking false claims about drugs, particularly in the media, health care providers should work to reduce the risks of self-medication.

Points for discussion:

Good self-medication can provide benefits such as reduction of healthcare cost burden (medical hours spend on minor conditions, lowering the cost of prescription reimbursement systems, etc).

On the other hand, self medication may include: incorrect self-diagnosis, delays in seeking medical advice when needed, severe adverse reactions and drug interactions, incorrect dosage, masking of severe disease, risk of dependence and abuse.