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Objective: To build and validate an instrument to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Brazilian university students about self-medication. Method: Methodological study carried out at a public university in the center of western Minas Gerais, Brazil. A committee of judges assessed clarity, relevance and comprehensiveness and the pre-test carried out with a target audience to assess understanding and acceptability. The content validity index (CVI) was used to assess the proportion of agreement and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α) to measure reliability. Results: The instrument consisted of 38 items divided into three sections: characterization of participants (13 items); knowledge and practices of self-medication (3 items); and beliefs and attitudes (22 items). The mean CVI for all sections of the instrument was 0.97 and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the beliefs and attitudes section >0.70. Conclusion: The instrument was considered valid to assess knowledge, practice, beliefs and attitudes about self-medication in university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira em Promoção da Saúde is the property of Revista Brasileira em Promocao da Saude and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To describe the health needs of men and the factors that motivate the practice of self-medication in a city in northeastern Brazil. Method: This is a descriptive, exploratory study with a qualitative approach, whose research field was a family health unit in a city in the interior of Bahia, Brazil. The study included men who performed the practice of selfmedication, from November 2015 to May 2016. For data collection, we used the semi-structured interview, organized and presented by the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) method. Results: Considering the key expressions and the central ideas of the discourses, two distinct but complementary aspects emerged, the health needs and the motivations for self-medication that pervade issues involving men's conception of public health services. Dissatisfaction with the provision of care, lack of specific programs and easy access to medicines are the main factors that facilitate the practice of selfmedication. Conclusions: It is necessary to create mechanisms for strengthening and qualifying Primary Care regarding the importance of quality and comprehensiveness of care, so that men abandon the practice of self-medication and value health prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem is the property of Revista Gaucha de Enfermagem and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the prevalence of self-medication among undergraduate nursing students seeking to relieve pain and characterizes the pain and relief obtained through the used medication. This epidemiological and cross-sectional study was carried out with 211 nursing students from a public university in Goiás, GO, Brazil. A numerical scale (0-10) measured pain intensity and relief. The prevalence of self-medication was 38.8%. The source and main determining factor of this practice were the student him/herself (54.1%) and lack of time to go to a doctor (50%), respectively. The most frequently used analgesic was dipyrone (59.8%) and pain relief was classified as good (Md=8.5;Max=10;Min=0). The prevalence of self-medication was higher than that observed in similar studies. Many students reported that relief obtained through self-medication was good, a fact that can delay the clarification of a diagnosis and its appropriate treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the prevalence of self-medication and associated factors among nursing workers. This epidemiological sectional study included 1,509 working nurses from two public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The medications were identified and classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Index. The self-medication prevalence was 24.2% and the most reported anatomical group treated was the nervous system, while the therapeutic group included analgesics. Self-medication was more prevalent among young people, individuals with minor psychiatric disturbances, non-hypertensive individuals, those who did not exercise, those who reported a disease or injury in the last 15 days, with the highest number of self-diagnosed diseases, nurses, professionals with temporary work contracts and those highly involved with their work. Self-medication is a frequent practice among the nursing team members and is associated with factors that should be taken into account when planning strategies aimed at improving workers' health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]