Objective:

Describe self-medication and its relationship with sociodemographic characteristics in students of the medical school of a university in northern Peru 2023.

Methodology:

An observational, cross-sectional and prospective design was used with 301 participants, using the CAuM-ovr questionnaire to collect data.

Results:

83.4% of the students self-medicated. The bivariate analysis revealed that belonging to medical school significantly increased the probability of self-medication (p=0.0001, OR=26.4), as did having a salary greater than 1,500 soles (p=0.01, OR=2.26). The main reasons included symptoms not considered serious enough to see a doctor (39%). Regarding the level of knowledge, a high percentage (94.8%) did not request information about medications and 94% believed in the influence of advertising on their purchasing decisions. Attitudinally, 60.6% occasionally consulted a specialist for health problems, while 58.6% bought medications recommended by advertising.

Conclusion:

The frequency of self-medication is high among these students, which indicates a continuous risk practice despite their health training.

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