{
  "abstract": "Background: The WHO estimates that more than two-thirds of university students engage in this practice. This study aims to determine the prevalence, knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to self-medication, along with the determinants that influence these behaviors, among higher education students in Pakistan.\n\nMethodology : A total of 1346 students participated in a cross-sectional multicenter study from across Pakistan. The data was collected using a structured 28-item questionnaire (Cronbach’s α value: 0.85 to 0.89), using a convenience sampling technique.\n\nResults : The overall prevalence of self-medication was 59.88% among the higher education students. Self-medication was more prevalent among female students, but it was not statistically significant in AOR (64.18%, COR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.05–1.70, p = 0.008, AOR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91–1.25, p = 0.061). Additionally, the prevalence of self-medication was higher among students aged > 21 (63.79%, COR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.20–1.98, p = 0.001, AOR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.03–1.40, p = 0.011). The health sciences students possessed a higher level of self-medication-related knowledge (M: 4.39, p < 0.001), but they demonstrated poorer self-medication practices (M: 3.53, p = 0.004) compared to non-health sciences students. Participants reported using a range of pharmacological agents for self-medication, including antibiotics (29.00%), multi-vitamins (22.00%), anti-allergics (18.00%), cold remedies (13.00%), eye drops (8.00%), nose sprays (6.00%), steroids (2.00%), and others (2.00%). Students also reported using artificial intelligence (AI), social media, and internet resources as sources for students to get knowledge regarding self-medication (13.00%), to seek advice before starting medication (9.14%), and get guidance in case of medication-related adverse effects (5.00%). Most of the participants (64.00%) reported storing 1 or more boxes of medication in their house for future use.\n\nConclusion: The prevalence of self-medication was high among higher education students in our study. Additionally, the students are using on digital health resources for self-medication-related practices. Our study highlights the trends in self-medication among higher education students, guiding public health policymakers regarding self-medication interventions.\n\nSupplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28846-4.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "NUST School of Health Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12 Sector, Islamabad, 44000 Pakistan",
    "College of Computer and Cyber Sciences, University of Prince Mugrin, Madina, Saudi Arabia",
    "CMH Institute of Medical Science (CIMS), Multan, 60000 Pakistan",
    "Department of Medical Diagnostic Imaging, College of Health Sciences, Sharjah University, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates",
    "Research Institute for Medical and Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 27272 United Arab Emirates",
    "Irfan Suat Gunsel Operational Research Institute, Near East University, TRNC Mersin 10, Nicosia, 99138 Turkey",
    "Széchenyi István University, Egyetem Square 1, Győr, H-9026 Hungary",
    "University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Abdul Sami"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rashid Tahir"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Muhammad Tariq Bakhshi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Muhammad Ahsan Javed"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Dilber Uzun Ozsahin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Yasir Waheed"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d3tbcegpm5sg8.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12889-026-28846-4",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13715180/",
  "id": "d3tbcegpm5sg8",
  "issns": [
    "1471-2458"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28846-4",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Research"
    ],
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      "openalex",
      "2402|Antibiotic Use and Resistance"
    ]
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  "openalex": "W7172032341",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13715180",
  "pmid": "42947121",
  "published": "2026-08-01",
  "publisher": "BMC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d3tbcegpm5sg8.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:22:32Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13715180",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28846-4"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2402|Antibiotic Use and Resistance",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Self-medication among higher education students: prevalence, risk factors, and health information-seeking behaviours",
  "title_text": "Self-medication among higher education students: prevalence, risk factors, and health information-seeking behaviours",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:22:32Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d3tbcegpm5sg8",
  "venue": "BMC Public Health",
  "versions": []
}