Prevalence and Factors Associated with Self-Medication in Under-Five Children by Care-givers in Lusaka District: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Universally, studies have shown that self-medication has been on escalation and continues to be a public health challenge. Without consulting specialists, most people treat their ailments. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with self-medication in under-five children by care-givers in Lusaka District. Methods and Materials: Random sampling technique was used to collect data. Care-givers of under-five children attending under-five clinic at Matero Level One Hospital 102 (29.57%), George Clinic 72 (20.8%) and Chainda South Clinic 171 (49.56%) were randomly selected. Qualitative data analysis was done using thematic analysis in Atlas. ti. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses were performed using Stata14.2 College Station, TX: Stata Corp LP software package. Results: Of the 345 respondents, the prevalence of self-medication was 75.6%. The study found that of care-givers (mothers) 164 (47.53%) shared and 117 (33.91%) used left-over medicines. Additionally, the relationship to child (p=0.015), marital status (p=0.033), and education level (p=0.005) were associated with obtaining a medical prescription. Qualitative findings revealed that the main factors behind the practice of self-medication were quick relief, habitual, experience with disease, lack of funds, distance, lack of medication, pharmacy closed, among others. Conclusion: This study found a high prevalence of self-medication in Lusaka District of Zambia. Socio-economic factors such as education, household income, relationship to under-five child, care-givers marital status; individual factors: perception of disease; clinical factors: long waiting time and easy access to medication were among the major factors that led to self-medication. Key words: Self-medication; left-over medication; sharing medication; care-giver; Zambia