OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUG USE: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE AMONG PHARMACY STUDENTS IN A FACILITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are widely used for minor ailments and can support self-care when used appropriately. However, inappropriate self-medication may result in adverse effects, drug interactions, overdose and delayed professional assessment. This study assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding OTC medicine use among pharmacy students. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding the safe, rational, and responsible use of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines among pharmacy students through a facility-based cross-sectional study, and to identify gaps that may influence appropriate self-medication practices. Methods: A facility-based descriptive cross-sectional KAP study was conducted among pharmacy students using a structured, self-administered questionnaire distributed through Google Forms. The study population comprised 500 students from B.Pharm, Pharm.D and D.Pharm programmes, and 200 eligible respondents were included in the final analysis. Knowledge, attitude and practice were assessed using predefined scoring systems, and data were summarized using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Results: The mean knowledge score was 2.27 ± 1.04 out of 5, indicating poor knowledge; 56.0% of respondents had poor knowledge and 11.5% had good knowledge. The mean attitude score was 3.10 ± 0.53, indicating a neutral attitude. The mean practice score was 3.33 ± 0.54, also indicating a neutral level of practice. Self-medication was reported by 71.9% of respondents, while only 30.5% reported always reading medicine-label instructions. Conclusion: The study identified important gaps in OTC medicine knowledge and neutral attitudes and practices among pharmacy students. Targeted education on dosage, adverse effects, interactions, contraindications, label reading, storage, expiry dates and appropriate referral may promote safer and more rational OTC medicine use.