Survey of first year pharmacy students' awareness about the use of medicines at Nguyen Tat Thanh university in 2017 – 2018

Abstract

The awareness on the use of medicines plays an important role in public healthcare system as an essential element to minimize the risk of irrational use of medicines as well as reducing drug abuse. The study aims to survey this awareness on particular young adults - the students of Pharmacy Faculty at Nguyen Tat Thanh University, thereby evaluating overall awareness about use of medicines to propose solutions in the purpose of improve this current situation. Methods: A descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted among 453 first-year full-time students at Nguyen Tat Thanh University in 2017 - 2018, processing data by SPSS 20.0. Results: Less than 50% of the first-year students were aware of the use of medicines. Below 15% self-studied the diseases and the medications that they used regularly. Only 6% of students sought for doctors when needed while the majority of students (78%) chose to buy their medicines directly at pharmacy. Over 80% of the explanations for students‟ choices were due to habits and convenience.