Avaliação da prática de automedicação pelos estudantes da UFCG -Campus Cuite durante a pandemia da Covid - 19.

Abstract

Self-medication is a frequent practice around the world, being defined as the use of medicines for the purpose of treating symptoms or health conditions without the prescription by a qualified professional. The population practices self-medication as a self-care habit, whereby people with greater access to information, such as university students, are described as one of the largest drug-consuming groups and who practice self-medication, possibly because they hold more information, which promotes assistance in the selection of medicines. In Brazil, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of medicines has been gaining prominence, in which self-medication has been reported in high numbers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-medication during the COVID-19 pandemic period by students of UFCG-campus Cuité courses. This is a cross-sectional and qualitative-quantitative descriptive study. The

data collection resource was a self-administered and structured questionnaire about self- medication during the pandemic. Academics were invited to respond through an

electronic form generated in Google Forms. The data obtained were compiled in Excel® spreadsheets version 2016 for analysis and obtaining the results of descriptive statistics. Respondents were female, between 21-30 years old, did not have their own income, and the majority did not have any illness. The prevalence of self-medication among academics was 63.7%, of the drugs included in the questionnaire, vitamin C was the most described (32.6%), while the classes of drugs most cited by university students that were not included in the questionnaire were analgesics and antipyretics (30.6%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic drugs (16.6%), antihistamines for systemic use (12%) and centrally acting muscle relaxants (8%), the majority being comprised of MIPs (64.7 %). As for the symptoms that motivated the use of medication, headache was the most mentioned (14.9%); the period of 1 to 2 days was more prevalent (38.3%). According to the interviewees, the medicines were already used before the pandemic (80.4%). Regarding the indication, most students used the medication based on their own knowledge, as they had already used them previously (47.3%), followed by the indication of family members (27.9%). What led them to this practice was the belief that the health problem did not require a visit to the doctor (33.1%), while the main source of information

on medicines is the leaflet itself (36%). It is then concluded that there was a rate of self- medication considered high.