Abstract
Background:The use of medicine is an important part of any health care process and the improvement of health
status of any population. While some medicines are legitimately prescribed by practitioners, others take drugs not
prescribed by practitioners when they suffer from illness or injuries. The effect of such actions on the health of
individuals cannot be overlooked. Even though majority of health policies in developing countries have focused on
chronic diseases and the functioning of health systems, abuse of drugs or medicines is a serious population health
problem that deserves equal attention. The objectives of the current study are to examine the social and economic
dimensions of the use of non-prescription medicines and to determine the effect it has on self-assessed health of
individuals.
Methods:The study employs data from the second Integrated Household Survey of Malawi with a sample of 2506
individuals who reported an incidence of illness or injury over the past two weeks before the survey. Regression
analysis is conducted at two levels, first is a probit model to identify socio-economic factors that influence the use of non-prescription medicine. The second step uses an ordered probit to model the effect of the use of non-prescription medicines on self-assessed health of individuals.
Results:Results from the probit model show that availability of a health facility in the community negatively
affects the use of non-prescription medicines. Age of the individual and the total household health expenditure
relate to higher use of non-prescription medicine. Results from the ordered probit model shows that individuals
who used non-prescription medicines were likely to report lower categories of self-assessed health.
Conclusions:While policy makers need to engage in public campaign to educate the population on the health risks posed by the use of non-prescription medicines, attention also has to be paid to the social and economic characteristics of the population. Efforts to provide health facilities in communities where they do not exist and improve existing ones will be a crucial step in reducing the use of non-prescription medicines.
Keywords:Non-prescription medicine, health status, self-assessed health, ordered probit model, Malawi