Students attitude toward use of over the counter medicines during exams in Saudi Arabia

Purpose: To explore the use of over the counter (OTC) medicines among students during exams in Riyadh City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Method: A cross-sectional study was designed; using a self-administered twenty-two item online questionnaire for the students convenience and easy response disclosure. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 13®. Results: A total of N = 1596 students participated in this survey, of whom 829 (51.9%) were university students and 767 (48.1%) were high school students. Overall, 80.0% of the respondents disclosed the use of OTC non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for headache and pain relief. In addition, other substances used during the exams were Energy Drinks (5.0%), Flu Medication (5.0%), Vitamins (5.0%) and Antibiotics (5.0%). Female students were found to be more knowledgeable about safety issues concerning the use of OTC medicines (5.11 ± 1.27, p = 0.001) than male students. Ease in access to OTC medicine, availability of pharmacist consultation and advertisement in print and electronic media were the main factors disclosed by the respondents that may result in an increase in the use of OTC products. The use of OTC medicines was generally higher among female students (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The use of OTC medication during exams was more among high school and university students. Gender, age and educational institution were found significantly affecting the use of OTC medicines during exams.