ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF UNDERGRADUATES TOWARDS SELF MEDICATION IN JOSEPH AYO BABALOLA UNIVERSITY,IKEJI ARAKEJI OSUN STATE.

Self-medication can be described as a double edged sword for itsusers having both beneficial and harmful effects. The broad aim of the study was to study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception of undergraduates on self-medication in Joseph Ayo Babalola University,Ikeji Arakeji, The study was a descriptive cross-sectional design. A total of 146 respondents were recruited and all the respondents completed the questionnaires and had adequate data for analysis using (SPSS package) 22rd edition. The overall knowledge rating 57(39.0%) are good, 28(19.2%) are very good, 34(23.3%) are fair, 14(9.6%) are poor, 14(9.6%) are poor and 13(8.9%) are excellent. Result of this study shows that that most of the respondents 94(64.4%) have practiced self-medication, 77(52.7%) have used medication prescribed for someone else, most of the respondent’s primary source of information for self-medication are from 43(29.5%) family, 38(26.0%) internet, 36(24.7%) friends and 9(19.0%) health professionals, majority do think self-medication are suitable for 71(48.6%) headache, 34(23.3%) fever, 25(17.1%) cold, 12(8.2%) allergies and 120(82.2%) do believe that healthcare professionals should be consulted before taking any medication, 100(68.5%) do have easy access to healthcare facilities on campus, 71(48.6%) have ever been influenced by friends or media to self-medicate, 80(54.8%) have received any education or training on responsible medication use, 43(29.5%) through school, 42(28.8%) internet, 40(27.4%) hospital and 21(14.4%) none. The government and other regulatory authorities should develop guideline and strong measures should be implemented to halt the selling of medications without a proper prescription. In addition, students should be educated on the consequences of self –medication. Key words: Attitude, Knowledge, Perception, Undergraduates. Word count: 240 words