CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
A novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first described in Wuhan, China in December 2019 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Since it was declared as a global pandemic on March 12, 2020, the disease has spread across 221 countries and territories around the world (WHO, 2021). There have been 225, 166, 539 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported, including 4,636,210 deaths globally according to the data presented by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in their 36th week of COVID-19 Updates. The Department of Health in the Philippines has approved 10 vaccines for administering, namely Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Gamaleya (Sputnik Light, Sputnik V), Janssen, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Bharat Biotech, Sinopharm, Sinopharm (Wuhan), and Sinovac (WHO, 2021), the availability, however, are in limited quantities. The Department of Health (DOH) in the Philippines states that with the initial limited supply of the COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination jabs prioritize frontline health workers and uniformed personnel. Included in the prioritized group that is guided by the principle of equity are vulnerable groups such as the elderly (senior citizens) and the pauperized population (DOH, 2021). In the Philippines, there have been a reported of 2,366,749 positive COVID-19 cases, including 36, 788 COVID-19 deaths from January 3, 2020 until September of 2021, and as of September 8, 2021, a total of 37,728,114 vaccine doses have been administered (WHO, 2021).
The World Health Organization and the majority of governments have suggested that the general public should just practice “stay-at-home” to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (Mathias, T., Dominski F.H., Marks, F.D., 2020). COVID-19 health protocols resulted in depression, anxiety, and stress (Khademian, F., 2021). Additionally, the increasing toll of COVID-19 related deaths comes with the rise of psychological challenges (Khademian, F., 2021). This distress is worsened by the fact that as of today, there is still no effective treatment for the novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 (Khademian, F., 2021). During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the Filipinos reported moderate-to-severe anxiety and one-sixth reported moderate-to-severe depression and psychological impact (Tee, M..L., 2020). Additionally, student status, low confidence in doctors, dissatisfaction with health information, long daily duration spent on health information, worries about family members contracting COVID-19, ostracization, and unnecessary worries about COVID-19 were associated with adverse mental health in the Philippines (Tee, M., 2021).
To relieve mental distress presented by this public health crisis, and as a preventative measure in the hope to lessen the contraction of the Corona Virus Disease the general public has reported resorting to self-administration of drugs (Cornell, 2020 & Panchal, N. et al., 2021). The utilization of medicines by individuals for the treatment of self-recognized illnesses or symptoms without a physician’s consultation is defined as Self-medication (SM) (WHO, 1998). Currently approved drugs for COVID-19 symptoms treatment carry adverse drug effects including an increased risk of improper dosage, incorrect route of administration, improper storage, a risk to drug abuse, and higher prevalence of pathogenic resistance to drugs (Onchonga et al., 2020). The trend of SM practices triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic is alarming, has raised a huge medical challenge, and may be particularly problematic in the elderly who practice it. (Hughes et al., 2001).
Self-administered drugs include the use of antibiotics, herbal remedies, and other Over-the-Counter drugs (WHO, 2020) including ivermectin in some countries (Molento M.B., 2020). In China and Pakistan, various herbal drugs have been used to treat COVID-19 (Yang Y., 2020). Such medications are readily procurable to the public without having a prescription and are used as SM to avoid hospital visits and admissions, but the drug’s efficacy against COVID-19 lacks evidence-based support (Yang Y., 2020). Additionally in China, three herbal products namely Lianhuaqingwen capsules and Jinhua Qinggan granules, and Xuebijing were recommended to treat mild and severe COVID-19 symptoms, respectively. However, the patented herbal’s effectiveness and safety has yet to be confirmed (Yang Y., 2020). Similarly, a governor in Pakistan claimed efficacy in treating COVID-19 symptoms with the use of Sanna Makki, a herbal plant, which resulted in its increased demand and use by local people (The Nation, 2020). In the Philippines, a study conducted in Cebu shows that 83.4% of residents of Cebu City are practicing self – medication (Yaun, E., 2015). Additionally, the majority of Cebu’s population utilizes over-the-counter medicine for specific diseases with a lack of OTC medicine use awareness (See G.L., 2015).
Currently, there are no documented studies on the self-medication practices in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study is designed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practices in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic, to determine the preferred drugs, as well as the purchase intent of self-medicated drugs in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon, Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also aims to promote self-medication awareness and provide insights to healthcare policymakers to further improve the measurements being taken to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global collapse in mental health. The lack of treatment for COVID-19, delay in the COVID-19 vaccine roll out and COVID-19 vaccine’s limited availability in the Philippines has led its citizens to take self-measures to prevent the contraction of COVID-19. The emergence of the COVID-19 has made many people resort to self-medication. Generally, self-medication has been viewed as a means of sustenance though it poses adverse effects and the improper usage of medication may lead to long-term effects such as drug addiction, allergy, habituation, worsening of ailment, or even disability and premature death. The surge of self-medication trends globally has alarmed healthcare professionals and the adult population is observed to be the worst and greatest offenders in practicing self-medication, however, the information as to why they purchase a specific medication and the cause of their self-medication is lacking in data.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The study generally aims to assess the prevalence of self-medicated drugs and other practices as a preventive measure for COVID19 among adults in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon.
Specifically, this study aims to:
Determine the rate of self-medication users before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Determine the most preferred self-medication drugs among the adult population Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon.
Determine the purchase intent of self-medication drugs among the adult population in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will provide a small-scale overview of the mental and physical health status of the adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the self-medicated patients themselves, the results may enable them to improve awareness and education to self-medication practices. This study will also help the policymakers, local ministries of health and education, and other relevant government and non-governmental bodies for the ideas presented can give insights in providing proper strategies and regulation for self-medication usage. Drug Stores/ Suppliers / Manufacturers can also use this study as a basis for determining the most preferred self-medication drug for future drug development and sales. Finally, for future researchers. This study can be used as a basis or reference in conducting new research or in testing the validity of other related findings. Furthermore, a study on the prevalence of self-medication practices in the Philippines has not yet been published. Thus, the researchers designed this cross-sectional study to assess the self-medication among the adult population in Brgy. Cumadcad, Castilla, Sorsogon during the COVID-19 pandemic.