Journal of Sociology and Social Work

Knowledge of Dangers of Self-Medication among Secondary School Students in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State
Alfred Stephen Ekpenyong, Mandu S. Ekpenyong

Abstract
Self-medication is a health issue that little or nothing is known about. This study was set out to ascertain the knowledge of dangers of self-medication among secondary school students in Yenagoa LGA, Bayelsa State. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the work. The population of the study was 5900 students in the 20 registered secondary schools in Yenagoa. The sample of 300 students was randomly selected using non-replacement technique from the 10 selected schools. The instrument used for data collection was a well structured questionnaire. The technique used for the data analysis was descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage and inferential statistics of chi-square (x2). The major findings of this study was that knowledge of dangers of self-medication among secondary school students in the area of study was low. Based on this the study recommended among others that campaign against self-medication, and its related health risk should be embarked upon by health workers. Also, drug and consumer education should be included in the school curriculum, while Parents should also minimize the use of drugs at home, and monitor their children attitude towards the use of drugs.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jssw.v8n1a2