Assess the self medication practices among staff nurses

Self medication is an area where governments and health authorities need to ensure that it is done in responsible manner, ensuring that safe drugs are made available over the counter and the consumer is given adequate information about the use of drugs and when to consult a doctor. Study objectives are to assess the prevalence and reasons of self medication and its distribution among staff nurses working at Krishna Hospital, Karad & to determine the association between socio -demographic variables and self medication practices. A descriptive approach is used for 168 staff nurses. A structured questionnaire was administered to the staff nurses. The collected data was analyzed by using descriptive analysis by Instat software. Majority (79.16%) of the respondents are practicing self medication for pain related complains 153 subjects (91.07%) have reported prevalence of self medication related to minor ailments & 90 subjects (53.57%) to antibiotics. 135 (80.30%) respondents reported self knowledge for prevalence of self medication, 151 (89.80%) have reported that there is no any side effects after taking self medication. There was no significant association between conditions for which medication practiced, type of drugs used for self medication and sociodemographic variables. High prevalence's of self medication among staff nurses indicates they have the knowledge regarding management of minor ailments on their level.