GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

ABSTRACT

The study examined the influence of economic and convenience factors on self-medication practice among undergraduate students of the University of Uyo. Two research questions and three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A survey research design was adopted for the study and the population of the study consisted 623 Year Three (300L) students in the Faculty of Education, University of Uyo. A simple size of 200 undergraduate students was selected through a simple random sampling technique. A self-structured questionnaire titled ‘Factors Influencing Self Medication Questionnaire (FISMQ), was developed and used as instrument for data collection. The instrument was subjected to a validation and reliability test. A reliability coefficient index of .87 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha statistics. Means was used to answer research questions while chi-square statistics was used for testing null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The results of the study revealed that there is a significant influence of economic and convenience on the practice of self-medication among undergraduate students of the University of Uyo. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the University of Uyo administration, in collaboration with government and health providers, should implement a student-friendly health financing policy that subsidizes basic medical consultations and treatments for undergraduates to reduce the financial burden that drives students to self-medicate and promote equitable access to professional healthcare services on campus.