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. 2014 Jul;22(3):213-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2013.05.007. Epub 2013 May 31.

Saudi school students' knowledge, attitude and practice toward medicines

Ahmed S Eldalo  1 , Mirghani A Yousif  1 , Mustafa Awad Abdallah  1
Affiliations

Saudi school students' knowledge, attitude and practice toward medicines

Ahmed S Eldalo et al. Saudi Pharm J. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

The current study was aimed to assess Saudi school students' knowledge, attitude and practice about medicines. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used anonymously among 15-20 year-old adolescents attending tertiary schools in Taif City, KSA. A total of 1022 students completed the questionnaires. Only 15.4% of the respondents knew the medicines' uses. Most of the students 79.6% affirmed that they used to take medicines after consulting physicians, and 45.1% of the students thought that tablet size affects the medicine's efficacy. More than half of the students knew that high temperatures affect the efficacy of medicines, there was a significant difference between rural and urban areas (P = 0.005). Physicians (50.6%) and community pharmacists (15.7%), were the main students' reliable sources of information about medicines. The majority of the students 70.5% were interested in learning more about medicines. The younger students ⩽18 years wish to learn more than the older ones (P < 0.014). The study showed that Saudi school students aged 15-20 years old have poor knowledge, misconception and negative attitudes about medicines. Low level of knowledge may expose adolescents to health-related problems. Educational efforts are important to improve students' practice toward medicines.

Keywords: Attitude; Knowledge; Medicines; School students; Taif.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The situation in which the students used medicines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The response of students toward medicines after feeling well.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The source of information about medicines (n = 1022).
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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