The Frequency and Efficiency of the Application of Online Sources for Searching Drug Information and Self-Treatment Download PDF

The problem of self-treatment of patients is relevant, both for countries with strict regulatory regulation and the release of drugs and for countries with weak control of restrictions on population access to prescription drugs. Sociological survey of the population (n = 762) using Google Forms. Statistical analysis was performed using the International Business Machines Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS) Statistical 25 program, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. A third of respondents constantly or often turn to a pharmacy worker for advice. The most common answer about the frequency of use of online resources, to search for information about drugs, was 3-4 times a month, and 1 time a month. The most popular resource is an online pharmacy apteka.ru. 65% of respondents partially understand specialized medical/pharmaceutical literature. About a third of respondents constantly or often self-prescribe drugs after reading online resources. More than half of the patients surveyed rated the effectiveness of self-medication as constant or frequent. The high frequency of pharmaceutical consultation needs proves the public's confidence in pharmacy workers. The popularization and availability of specialized information can lead to an increase in self-medication and the use of drugs, and a partial understanding of the information can lead to a decrease in compliance or errors in drug therapy.