Psychological influence of internet on self-medication among undergraduate students at a university in Oyo state, Nigeria

Augusta Nkem

doi:10.38140/ijspsy.v3i2.935

Authors

Augusta Nkem Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38140/ijspsy.v3i2.935

Keywords:

Internet, Self-medication, Over-the-counter drugs, Undergraduate students, Prescription error, Prescription misinterpretation

Abstract

This study examines the psychological influence of the internet on self-medication among Undergraduate Students at a University in Oyo State, Nigeria. The descriptive survey that is correlational with the total population that consisted of all the students was used. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 200 students from 10 departments in five faculties at a University in Oyo State, Nigeria. The information was collected and analysed with a simple percentage and mean. Pearson Product Moment Correlation to check the hypotheses at p< 0.05 significant level. The results show the rate of self-medication to be moderate and that internet contributed to self-medication among students. However, the results did not show a significant correlation between the internet and self-medication (r=0.152, < 0.292; p 0.05), while a significant relationship exists between the level of knowledge and self-medication (r=0.310, > 0.029; p 0.05). This study concluded that the internet influences self-medication. Therefore, it is recommended that students avoid getting prescriptions from the internet.

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