COVID-19 PANDEMIC and BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE to SELF-MEDICATION PRACTICE in WESTERN UGANDA Authors: Samuel S
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medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.02.20248576; this version posted January 4, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE TO SELF-MEDICATION PRACTICE IN WESTERN UGANDA Authors: Samuel S. Dare1, Ejike Daniel Eze1, Echoru Isaac1, Ibe Michael Usman2, Fred Ssempijja2, Edmund Eriya Bukenya1, Robinson Ssebuufu3 Affiliations: 1 School of Medicine, Kabale University, Uganda 2 Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University Western Campus, Uganda 3 Faculty of Clinical Medicine and Dentistry, Kampala International University Teaching Hospital, Uganda Corresponding Author: Samuel S. Dare, Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Background Self-medication has become is a serious public health problem globally posing great risks, especially with the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 disease in Uganda. This is may be partly because of the absence of a recognized treatment for the disease, however, the prevalence and nature differ from country to country which may influence human behavioural responses. Aim This study aimed to investigated the beharioural response of the community towards self- medication practices during this COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Methods A cross sectional household and online survey was conducted during the months of June-to- August. The study was conducted among adult between age 18 above in communities of western Uganda who consented to participate in the study. Study participants were selected using a convenience sampling technique and sampling was done by sending a structured online questionnaire via Google forms and a printed copies questionnaire made available to other participants that did not use the online questionnaire Results The percentage of respondents that know about self-medication is (97%) and those that practice self-medication are approximately (88%). 97% of respondents have heard about self-medication either through health workers, media, family members, friends and/or school while 3% said they have not heard about self-medication. The percentage of respondents who practiced self- medication during COVID-19 pandemic is 57% while those that did not is 43%. There is statistically difference in the number of those that practice self-medication and those that do not p < 0.005 at 95% confidence interval. Also there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of respondents that practice self-medication during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown compare to the practice before the pandemic lockdown p < 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Conclusion Our investigation showed adequate knowledge of self-medication and high level of self- medication practice with a decrease in self-medication practices during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown compared to the practice before the lockdown. KeywordsNOTE: This preprint: Covid-19, reports new self-medication, research that has not been pandemic, certified by peerbehavioural review and should response, not be used lockdown, to guide clinical drugs practice. 1 medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.02.20248576; this version posted January 4, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . INTRODUCTION The outbreak of coronavirus have prompted many countries around the world including Uganda to introduce lockdown as advised by WHO because of growing cases. In most countries so far, partial lockdowns as well as social distancing guidelines, frequent washing of hands and/or sanitizing have been put in place to curb the spread of the virus. Some of these restrictions may remain in place probably until a vaccine for the virus has been developed. In this regards many human behavioural patterns to life have been seriously affected raging from education, economic, health, social, religion etc. In Uganda for example, total ban on people’s movement from one district to another, border closure, curfew and others are measures that have been employed to prevent the spread of the virus, however, many patients suffering from other diseases have little or no access to health care service as a result of restrictions especially on movement. Some studies have revealed significant changes in the way people live their lives during this lockdown which included avoiding crowded public places, wearing a face mask, avoiding physical contact, improving personal hygiene (e.g. frequent washing of hands and using hand sanitizer), changes in sleep and use of sleep substances, diet and physical activities (Bruine de Bruin & Bennett, 2020, Arora & Grey, 2020 and WHO, 2018). Some of these may have some behaviours and mental health implications In the period of this pandemic, the way individual behaves is important to note because a change in the public behavior is an alternative to controlling outbreaks when there is no suitable pharmacological interventions. Furthermore, the behavioural patterns of an individual can influence their family, communities, society and social networks (Chen et al., 2017). Epidermics had been reported in a study which used mathematical models to affect people’s fears, emotions and ultimately their behavior (Bi et al., 2019). With respect to these behavioural changes resulting from the lockdown and restrictions, we envisaged that self-medication practices may be influenced by the way people try to cope with their health management at this crucial time. Self-medication can be referred to as the intake of drugs, herbs or home remedies either on one’s own initiative, or on the advice of another person for physical or psychological ailments (Hernandez‑Juyol and Job‑Quesada, 2002). Common sources of self-medications include previous prescribed drug, pharmacist, family, friends, neighbours, internet, and suggestions from an advertisement etc. According to Osemene and Lamikanra, (2012), self-medication is a serious public health problem globally posing risks such as drug resistance, organ damage and deaths (2.9 – 3.7%) in the world because of drug-drug interaction. The probability of drug abuse has been reported to be on the rise as a result of global increase in self-medication (McCabe et al., 2005, WHO 1998). Signs and symptoms of underlying disease conditions can be concealed by self-medication, therefore causing drug resistance, delay diagnoses and making the problem complex or difficult to deal with (Bauchner and Wise 2000, Calabresi and Cupini, 2005). Although, several countries and cultures presents the nature and prevalence of self-medication differently globally, nevertheless the practices are mostly based on certain advantage or disadvantage obtained from past experiences with similar drugs (McCabe et al., 2005). The effects of self-medication can be positive when practiced correctly; such as saving scarce medical resources from being wasted on minor conditions, reducing the pressure on medical services where health care personnel are insufficient, lowering the costs of community funded health care program and reducing absenteeism from work due to minor symptoms (WHO, 2000). However it also has potential risks at individual level such as incorrect self-diagnosis and choice of therapy, 2 medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.02.20248576; this version posted January 4, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license . incorrect route of administration, severe adverse effects, failure to recognize that the same active substance is already being taken under a different name and failure to recognize contraindications, interactions and precautions, incorrect route of administration, inadequate and excessive dosage and more. Also, self-medication could lead to high drug induced disease and public expenditure wastefulness. Self-medication causes adverse reaction and prolonged suffering as well as other related problems such as wastage of resources and high resistance of pathogens. It is important to note that a current world-wide problem especially in developing countries where antibiotics are available without any prescription is antimicrobial resistance (Bennadi, 2014). The overall self-medication rate in sub-Sahara Africa varies from 11.9% to 75.7%. In Uganda, a high prevalence of self-medication was previously reported in the northern and southwestern region (Mouankie et al., 2011, Ocan et al., 2014, Lukyamuzi et al., 2020). Therefore, this research sought to investigated the beharioural response of the community towards self-medication practices during this COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study design, site and population A cross sectional household and online survey using traditional method (printed questionnaires) and information technology (Google form) was conducted during the months of June-to-August 2020 in western Uganda. The study was conducted among adult between age 18 above in communities of western Uganda. Sample size determination The population of the western region, one of the four regions of Uganda was 8,874,862 according to