Evaluation of the Rational Drug Use (RDU) literacy among undergraduate students

• Teeraporn Sadira Supapaan ^[1] ; Bee Yean Low ^[3] ; Claire Anderson ^[2] ; Tuanthon Boonlue ^[1] ; Napaphorn Puripunyavanich ^[4] ; Jeerisuda Khumsikiew ^[1] ; Chonladda Pitchayajittipong ^[1] ; Prasittichai Poonphol ^[1]
  1. [1] Ubon Ratchathani University

     Ubon Ratchathani University

     Tailandia

     
  2. [2] University of Nottingham

     University of Nottingham

     Reino Unido

     
  3. [3] PhD, Assoc.Prof., School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.
  4. [4] M.A. (Medical and Public Health Social Sciences), Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand.

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• Localización: Pharmacy Practice (Granada), ISSN-e 1886-3655, Vol. 21, Nº. 4, 2023 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Oct-Dec)
• Idioma: inglés
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  • Background: Irrational drug usage is a global concern. WHO recommended a strategy for integrating education and awareness on the rational use of medicine into general education programs. Objective: To evaluate the rational drug use (RDU) literacy among the undergraduate students of Ubon Ratchathani University. Methods: This mixed-methods research consists of a quantitative cross-sectional study with a self-administered RDU literacy questionnaire and a qualitative in-depth interview study. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used in the quantitative study. Thematic analysis was used in the qualitative study. Results: Students who participated in this study included 640 undergraduate students. Approximately half of the participants never studied a RDU-related course (50.94%). Although the findings revealed that most of the participants (73.13%) had good RDU literacy, many participants had less frequency of the right options on some questions (e.g., advertisement of health products). Health sciences students were 2.8 times more likely than non-health sciences students to have good RDU literacy (AOR=2.835, 95% CI: 1.752-4.587). Four main themes were derived from the qualitative study: 1. Definition of RDU; 2. Facilitators; 3. Concerns; 4. RDU country. Conclusion: While the majority of participants demonstrated good RDU literacy, some actually engaged in irrational drug use. Activities promoting RDU literacy among undergraduate students, particularly in faculties other than health sciences, are still required.