Structural Equation Modelling of Self-Medication Awareness among Undergraduate Students of Federal University of Technology, Akure

Abstract

Every day, individuals of all levels of education engage in self-medication, which was defined as the practice of managing one's health without consulting a skilled health professional. The study examined the level of consciousness among undergraduate students regarding the impacts and consequences of self-medication and identified the factors that influenced this attitude. A cross-sectional review was conducted, and data were collected from 390 undergraduates in Federal University of Technology, Akure using a self-administered electronic questionnaire. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied on the dataset with the use of AMOS and SPSS statistical packages. The structural equation model analysis showed that the level of awareness of undergraduate students had a significant effect on the consequences of self-medication. It was discovered that the students were well-informed of the negative consequences of self-medication, however, factors such as poverty, lack of trust in the available medical facility, and relative knowledge of drugs and drug use influenced their attitude of self-medication. Thus, the study concluded that it was necessary to increase the level of responsiveness among undergraduate students regarding the adverse effects of self-medication and address the conditions that caused their act of self-medication.