{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T01:03:45Z","timestamp":1782867825430,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,22]],"date-time":"2022-11-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669075200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":21,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>To assess the prevalence and practice of self-medication and its associated factors among ophthalmic patients.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design<\/jats:title><jats:p>An analytical cross-sectional study design was employed.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title><jats:p>Three hospitals inAsmara, Eritrea.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Participants<\/jats:title><jats:p>Samples of ophthalmic outpatients aged &gt;18 years who visited the three hospitals in Asmara, Eritrea. Systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Data collection and analysis<\/jats:title><jats:p>Data were collected from September 2021 to October 2021 in a face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were double entered and analysed using CSPro (V.7.2) and SPSS (V.26), respectively. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were performed. P values less than 0.05 were considered as significant.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Primary and secondary outcome measures<\/jats:title><jats:p>Main outcome variable was practice of self-medication with ophthalmic drugs (SMOD). Secondary outcome measure was the determinants of self-medication practice.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 351 participants were recruited with a response rate of 97.7%. The prevalence of SMOD was found to be 14.9% (95% CI (11.1% to 18.7%)). The most frequently preferred ophthalmic drug groups were antibiotics (63.6%), followed by corticosteroids (22.7%). The main reasons for SMOD were easy accessibility (52.9%) and previous familiarity of the eye medication (27.5%). Eye redness (n=19\/51) and foreign body sensation (n=18\/51) were the most self-recognised complaints that required self-medication. The most common source of information for SMOD was pharmacy professionals (41.1%). Only attitude score (Crude odds ratio (COR)= 1.25, 95%\u2009CI 1.12, 1.39) was significantly associated with the practice of SMOD at bivariate logistic regression.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Though the majority of respondents considered self-medication with ophthalmic drugs as inappropriate, a significant number of them practising it. This mandates relevant bodies to take stricter measures to protect the public from the misuse of eye medications.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2022-063147","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,22]],"date-time":"2022-11-22T15:55:03Z","timestamp":1669132503000},"page":"e063147","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Self-medication with ophthalmic drugs and its associated factors among ophthalmic patients attending three hospitals in Asmara, Eritrea: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Hayleab","family":"Tesfay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kibrom","family":"Fiseha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simon","family":"Abera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Senai","family":"Mihreteab Siele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8462-0500","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eyasu H","family":"Tesfamariam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2426-4337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuru","family":"Abdu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2022112207501570000_12.11.e063147.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"735","DOI":"10.1590\/S1807-59322009000800005","article-title":"Self-Medication: initial treatments used by patients seen in an ophthalmologic emergency room","volume":"64","author":"Carvalho","year":"2009","journal-title":"Clinics"},{"key":"2022112207501570000_12.11.e063147.2","unstructured":"Bs Rbastola , magar PT . 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