Studies about adolescents' medicine use are quite rare in comparison with adolescents’ alcohol or tobacco use. However, more and more teenagers use different kinds of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs or other prescribed drugs every day. The uncontrolled use of legal drugs and the lack of knowledge about the proper use of them can lead to the misuse of these medications and therefore to hazardous consequences.
The current study was conducted to provide baseline data about Hungarian teenagers' knowledge, attitude and practice about OTC drugs, prescribed medications and other substances use.
Our sample consisted of 339 pupils from elementary schools (Grade 7-8). The study was performed in Bekes county in Hungary involved six small towns and villages. Self-administered questionnaires were applied that measured sociodemographics variables, lifetime and monthly prevalence of smoking and alcohol consumption, psychosomatic symptoms, beliefs and attitudes related to substance, use and knowledge about medicine use. Descriptive statistics, cross tabulations and chi square test were used to test these relationships with SPSS MS 19.0 statistical program.
We could identify several fields where pupils’ knowledge is insufficient. For instance, the use of antibiotics and eyedrops. We gained information about the pattern of medicine use among teenagers and the characteristics of psychosomatic symptoms and medical problems in this age group.
During health promotion and prevention programs we should pay attention to adolescents' legal and illegal drug use, especially in terms of knowledge about of these substances. Furthermore, it suggests the need for government-sponsored education efforts regarding correct use of medicines.
Keywords: medicine use, adolescents, OTC drugs, psychosomatic symptoms