2016, Cilt 3, Sayı 3, Sayfa(lar) 044-055
Individuals' Knowledge and Practices About Rational Drug Use
Şükrü EKENLER1, Deniz KOÇOĞLU2
1Selçuk Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Hemşirelik Anabilim Dalı, Konya, Türkiye
2Selçuk Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi, Halk Sağlığı Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, Konya, Türkiye
Keywords: Rational drug use; knowledge; drugs; practice

Aim: This study was carried out to examine individuals' knowledge and practices towards rational drug use.

Material and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 141 individuals. Data was collected with Rational Drug Use Survey in face to face interviews. Descriptive analysis methods and chi-square test were used in data analysis.

Results: In this study; 77.3% of the participants said that they used drugs without consulting a doctor, 26.2% increased/decreased their drug doses without consulting a doctor, 84.4% followed the drug-taking hours advised by their doctors, 77.3% stopped using the drugs before the time advised by their doctors.

Conclusion: Regarding to rational drug use, individuals have health behaviors that need to be improved. Especially, drug use without consulting a doctor and stopping use of drugs before advised duration should be considered as the most important problems. In the direction of these results, it is suggested to develop guidance and counseling programs towards improving rational drug use behaviors.