Abstract

Despite the Ministry of Health creating awareness of dangers of analgesic self- medication, still Ugandans take
painkillers alongside antibiotics without prescription. The aim of this study was to determine the factors
contributing to analgesic self-medication among adult patients attending Bweramule Health Center III, Ntoroko
District. A quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out among 90 patients selected by simple random sampling
among those that had taken a pain killer drug and interviewed by researcher administered questionnaire. Results of
the study revealed 47(52%) who took left over analgesics from what was prescribed for others, 56(62.2%) reported
that their Friends and family members are the ones that gives me painkillers, 52(57.8%) followed advertisement
about painkiller drugs, 50(55.5%) did self-medication with even other drugs and 56 (62.2%) believed that if the
disease was minor. Most 37(41.1%) reported they could move a distance of 5-10 kilometers seeking for prescription
in hospital/health Centre, 67(74.4%) analgesics are usually out of stock in health facilities, 71(78.9%) reported
doctors where always absent to prescribe for them, 59(65.6%) who reported that health workers at their facilities
did not mistreat patients and 78(86.7%) reported that there was long waiting time at facilities to get prescribed
analgesics. In conclusion, both individual related factors as well as facility related factors influenced self-medication
with analgesics