Medication Practices of School Teachers in Coimbatore
K. Bhuvaneswari and R. Muthamizh VeenaDepartment of Pharmacology, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Coimbatore,Tamil Nadu,India.
Corresponding Author E-mail: nandabhuvana@gmail.com
Abstract: Knowledge regarding use of medicine to school teachers is an important component of the overall health care delivery system of any country2. School teachers need to be aware of rational use of medicines because health education provided by them may have an immediate effect on students, their parents and also to the community. This study is aimed to evaluate the medication practices of school teachers in Coimbatore including the both city and rural areas. It wasaCross sectional study using a preformed questionnaire conducted from October 2014 to January 2015 among 400 School teachers working in both government and private schools in Coimbatore (city and rural areas) After getting approval from IHEC, then. Permissions from School management were obtained. Written informed consent from the participants and the Questionnaire was filled by them. Finally, the results were analyzed and the study was completed. Among the School teachers who voluntarily participated in this study, we found 86.5% follow doctor’s advice for their personal ailments. However, nearly 76% of teachers does not visit physician for basic complaints. About 44.5% give medications to children without doctor’s prescription / advice. Around 73% agree the importance of full course of medicines as per the prescription. This study revealed wide gap in the knowledge of health habits and medication practices, which can be overcome in future with personal / group discussion in the form of workshop to alleviate the doubts in their minds, since we understand that teachers are the best medium to disseminate the concept of rational use of medicines to the society.
Keywords: Knowledge; Medication practices; School teachers Back to TOC