Abstract:
Background: Analgesics commonly known as pain killers are substances which work in various
ways to relieve different types of pain experienced in the body. Analgesics have been reported to
be very widely used and abused set of drugs globally.
Objectives: This study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and behavior towards analgesic usage
among students of the University of Mines and Technology in the western region of Ghana.
Materials and methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among 400 students both
undergraduate and postgraduate learners at the University of Mines and Technology.
Convenience and purposive sampling method was used. Data were collected using questionnaire.
The questionnaire were divided into three sections containing questions about demographics
characteristics of respondents, knowledge and attitude towards analgesic use and reason of
taking the painkillers, side effect and source of information on analgesic Data were analyzed
using STATA statistical software package and results presented in the form of tables,
frequencies and percentages.
Results: All the respondents (100% believed they have heard about painkillers. Paracetamol was
the common analgesics used (83.10%) then Ibuprofen (6.20%). Majority of the respondents
(97.74% agreed that analgesic must be taken with water. There was a significant association
between type of painkillers used and side effects (p = 0.003).
Conclusion: Majority of the respondent use analgesics drugs for many reasons such as headache,
fever, dental pain, muscle pain and menstrual pain. The most common analgesic used by students
of University of Mines and Technology is paracetamol. Irrational trends in prescribing practices
and pharmaceutical advertising contributing to the current analgesic epidemic in the identified
aged group of 15-45 years were critically observed. More male students used analgesics than
female students. Most of the respondent relied on pharmacist as reliable source of information
about analgesic use and its safety.
