Abstract:
Background: Non-prescribed drug utilization is use of non-prescription medications to treat self-diagnosed disorders or symptoms, without consulting a physician and without any health professional supervision. Non-prescribed drug use by pregnant women can affect both the mother and fetus. Therefore, we intended to assess non-prescribed drug use and its associated factors.
Objective: This study was tried to assess non-prescribed drug use and its associated factors among pregnant women in peri-urban kebeles of Jimma town, south west Ethiopia, 2023.
Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant mothers from 20/ 1/ 2023 to 1/ 3/ 2023 in peri-urban kebeles of Jimma. Three hundred fifty eight participants were selected for face to face interview by using simple random sampling technique. The data was entered using Epi-data version 7.2.2.2 statistical software and transported to SPSS version 25 statistical packages. Bivariate and multivariate data analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows version 25 and level of significance of association was determined at P- value <0.05.
Result: This study revealed that non-prescribed drug use during current pregnancy was 37.7% (95%CI: 32.8-41.7). Health insurance, history of previous pregnancy and delivery related problem, previous health care provider’s prescription, previous experience of non-prescribed drug use and non-prescription drugs sale from private pharmacies to pregnant women were showed significant association with non-prescribed drug use.
Conclusion and recommendation: The use of non-prescribed drug during pregnancy was found to be high compared to some of the previous studies conducted in Ethiopia. Therefore it must be worked on the coverage of community health insurance, creating awareness to visit health facilities for illness during pregnancy than considering previous health care provider prescription and previous experience to treat self-diagnosed illness with non-prescribed drug and Strong enforcement restricting prescription drugs sale without prescription to pregnant women.
Key words: non-prescribed drug use, associated factors, pregnant women, Ethiopia.