Self-medication with analgesics among medical students and interns in King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: to determine the prevalence and predictors of self-medication with analgesics among senior medical students and interns in king abdulaziz university (kau), jeddah, saudi arabia. methods: a cross-sectional study was conducted among 504 participants in 2013. a multistage stratified random sampling was used. a confidential, anonymous & self-administered questionnaire was used to collect personal & socio-demographic data. data about self-medication and self-medication with analgesics during the preceding 6 months were also inquired. both descriptive and analytical statistics were done by spss version 18 & epi-info. results: during the 6 months preceding the study, 75.2% and 55.4% of participants used self -medication & analgesic self-medication, respectively. the first predictor of utilization of analgesic self-medication was living with family (aor; 1.96, 95% ci: 1.22-3.14), followed by age >21 years & non- professional jobs of fathers. conclusion: alarming high rates of self medication and self-medication with analgesics were observed among medical students and interns. self-medication needs improvement through educational, regulatory and managerial strategies.