Table 3.
Factors Associated with Self-Medication
| Characteristics | Self-Medicating N = 244 | Not Self-Medicating N = 141 | Univariate Analysis COR (95% CI) | p-value | Multivariate Analysis AOR (95% CI) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | ||||||
| < 21 years | 121 (57.6) | 89 (42.4) | Ref | |||
| > 21 years | 121 (69.9) | 52 (30.1) | 1.71 (1.12–2.62) | 0.013 | N/Aa | |
| Sex | ||||||
| Female | 125 (71.4) | 50 (28.6) | 1.91 (1.25–2.93) | 0.003 | 1.83 (1.15–2.90) | 0.01 |
| Male | 119 (56.7) | 91 (43.3) | Ref | |||
| Education | ||||||
| Medical | 102 (66.7) | 51 (33.3) | 1.27 (0.83–1.94) | 0.277 | N/A | |
| Non-medical | 142 (61.2) | 90 (38.8) | Ref | |||
| Insurance | ||||||
| Not having | 204 (63.8) | 116 (36.2) | 1.09 (0.62–1.93) | 0.759 | N/A | |
| Having | 37 (61.7) | 23 (38.3) | Ref | |||
| Years of Study | ||||||
| Below third year | 164 (58.4) | 117 (41.6) | Ref | |||
| Third year and above | 80 (76.9) | 24 (23.9) | 2.34 (1.42–3.98) | 0.001 | 2.24 (1.29–3.91) | 0.004 |
| Religion | ||||||
| Christian | 205 (62.2) | 125 (37.8) | 0.78 (0.36–1.71) | 0.537 | N/A | |
| Moslem | 21 (67.7) | 10 (32.3) | Ref | |||
| Allergy | ||||||
| No | 150 (58.8) | 105 (41.2) | Ref | |||
| Yes | 90 (73.2) | 33 (26.8) | 1.91 (1.19–3.06) | 0.007 | 2.42 (1.27–4.64) | 0.007 |
| Alcohol use | ||||||
| No | 164 (61.4) | 103 (38.6) | Ref | |||
| Yes | 78 (73.1) | 37 (26.9) | 1.32 (0.83–2.10) | 0.234 | 1.33 (0.80–2.22) | 0.271 |
| Access to medical services | ||||||
| No | 47 (71.2) | 19 (28.8) | Ref | |||
| Yes | 190 (61.3) | 120 (38.7) | 0.64 (0.36–1.14) | 0.131 | 0.41 (0.22–0.79) | 0.007 |
| Depression | ||||||
| Not depressed | 100 (61.3) | 63 (38.7) | Ref | 0.479 | N/A | |
| Depressed | 144 (64.9) | 78 (35.1) | 1.16 (0.77–1.77) | |||
| Household size | ||||||
| < 10 members | 214 (62.4) | 129 (37.6) | 0.71 (0.35–1.45) | 0.347 | N/A | |
| > 10 members | 28 (70.0) | 12 (30.0) | Ref | |||
| Knowledge on drug use | ||||||
| Not adequate | 106 (56.7) | 81 (43.3) | Ref | |||
| Adequate | 138 (65.5) | 60 (34.5) | 1.76 (1.16–2.67) | 0.008 | 1.56 (0.98–2.48) | 0.061 |
| Member of social group | ||||||
| No | 70 (56.5) | 54 (43.5) | Ref | |||
| Yes | 169 (66.5) | 85 (33.5) | 1.53 (0.99–2.38) | 0.057 | 1.51 (0.94–2.43) | 0.092 |
| Average monthly expenditure on health | ||||||
| < UGX 20,000 | 170 (57.6) | 111 (39.5) | Ref | |||
| > UGX 20,000 | 65 (70.7) | 27 (29.3) | 1.57 (0.95–2.61) | 0.081 | 1.20 (0.69–2.08) | 0.522 |
Notes: aAge was found to be collinear with years of study in the univariate model; hence, the former was selectively omitted from the multivariate model.