Self-Medication Practice with Nonprescription Medication among University Students: a review of the literature

Objective: To review the literature relating to self-medication practice with nonprescription medication among university students. Methods: A narrative review of studies on self-medication practice with nonprescription medication among university student was performed. An extensive literature search was undertaken using indexing services available at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) library. The following keywords were used for the search: self-care, self-medication, over-thecounter medicine, nonprescription medicine, minor illnesses, minor ailment, university population and community pharmacy. Electronic databases searched were Science Direct, Medline, ISI Web of Knowledge, Inside Web, JSTOR, Springer Link, Proquest, Ebsco Host and Google Scholar. These electronic databases were searched for full text papers published in English. Results: Eleven studies were identified. In general, the review has shown that self-medication practice with nonprescription medication highly prevalence among university students. The reasons for self-medication are vary among this population and the main symptoms leading to self-medication are headache or minor pain; fever, flu, cough, or cold; and diarrhoea.