Antibiotic self-medication among pharmacy students, health science students and non-medical students in UiTM Selangor, Puncak Alam kampus

Antibiotic is a medication that is used to treat bacterial infection. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge on antibiotic medication and also the antibiotic self­ medication behaviour among the students in UiTM Selangor, Puncak Alam Campus. A cross sectional study by using convenience sampling was conducted among undergraduate students from eight different faculties in UiTM Puncak Alam. A number of 430 questionnaires were distributed among the undergraduate students. The response rate was 81.4%. The questionnaire consisted of 30 items divided into 3 parts which were part A for demographic profile, part B for knowledge on antibiotic medication, the part C is for antibiotic self-medication behaviour. The data were analysed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. Chi square test was used to determine the significant association between the tested parameters with p value less than 0.05. The study revealed that students have low knowledge on antibiotic medication. Although antibiotic is a drug that can only be get by prescription, there is still students that buy and get the antibiotic from community pharmacies without any prescription. There is action need to be taken, to prevent serious problem that arising nowadays, such as antibiotic resistance.