Self-medication practices in mothers with children under 5 years of age visiting tertiary care hospital

Background: Self-medication refers to the practice of individuals using medications to treat their own conditions. Improper utilization of medications without a prescription results in undesirable side effects, detrimental drug interactions, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance, which is becoming a growing problem in developing nations due to the rising burden of infectious diseases. Objective: To find out the frequency of self-medication practices and the factors associated with it among mothers with children under 5 years of age. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the outpatient department of pediatrics, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan from March 2023 to June 2023. A total of 267 mothers with children younger than five were included in our study. Informed consent was obtained from mothers and maternal socio-demographic characteristics, self-medication knowledge, practice, motivation, and attitude were all documented. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. The association between self-medication and other factors was analyzed using Chi Square and Fisher’s Exact tests. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Self-medication was practiced by 94.4% of the mothers.. There was an association between maternal education level and self-medication practices (p=0.000). No association was found between employment status and self-medication practices (p=0.336). Fever was the most common illness for which mothers self-medicated their children (p=0.002). Conclusion: Self-medication is common among mothers of children under 5 years of age and is associated with maternal education level, with the highest frequency among the uneducated mothers. Maternal awareness and knowledge regarding the hazards of self-medication is of profound significance.