Analgesic self-medication patterns among military health and non-health students: Focused on knowledge and behaviour

Background: Analgesics are commonly used to relieve pain or discomfort. Their use is often associated with self-medication, either with or without a prescription, depending on students' knowledge and behaviour. Objective: This study aims to analyse the patterns of analgesic use among military health and non-health students, focusing on their self-medication practice, knowledge, and behaviour. Method: The present study conducted a cross-sectional survey using a validated tool. It comprised military students who studied health and non-health programmes, and non-military students were excluded. Descriptive analysis helped us find trends in self-medication and patterns of analgesic usage. Result: The findings indicate that self-medication with a prescription was more prevalent than without a prescription (69.8% vs. 29.9%). Health students demonstrated a higher level of knowledge than non-health students (59.4% vs. 58.2%). Regarding behaviour, non-health students more frequently used analgesics, particularly paracetamol (51.4% vs. 33.3%), while health students were more likely to consult healthcare professionals when experiencing side effects (18.0% vs. 11.1%). Conclusion: Military students in health science demonstrated greater knowledge and were more responsible for analgesic use than their counterparts. Its findings highlight the urgent need for educational intervention to promote responsible self-medication practices among military students.