Table 3. Illness and medication use episode characteristics stratified by use of medication from the formal and informal sector using column percentages.
| Variable | Category | Formal sector n (column %) | Informal sector n (column %) | P-value for chi-square test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medication use episodes | 4663 (100%) | 457 (100%) | ||
| Route of administration | Oral | 3965 (85.0%) | 427 (93.4%) | <0.001 |
| Parenteral | 45 (1.0%) | 0 (0%) | ||
| Topical | 131 (2.8%) | 5 (1.1%) | ||
| Nasal/otic | 394 (8.4%) | 5 (1.1%) | ||
| Ophthalmic | 37 (0.8%) | 5 (1.1%) | ||
| Inhaled | 4 (0.1%) | 1 (0.2%) | ||
| Missing | 87 (1.9%) | 14 (3.1%) | ||
| Prescription | Yes | 4504 (96.6%) | 97 (21.2%) | <0.001 |
| No | 159 (3.4%) | 360 (78.8%) | ||
| Illness episodes | 1541 (100%) | 386 (100%) | ||
| Number of medications | 1 | 646 (41.9%) | 309 (80.1%) | <0.001 |
| >1 | 893 (57.9%) | 76 (19.7%) | ||
| missing | 2 (0.1%) | 1 (0.3%) | ||
| Antibiotic usage | No | 675 (43.8%) | 273 (70.7%) | <0.001 |
| Yes | 866 (56.2%) | 113 (29.3%) |