Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting Propensity Score using the Military Health System Data Repository and National Death Index
Published on: January 8, 2020
Evaluation of the Factors Associated with Prescribed and Non-Prescribed Medicine: A Population-Based Study
Mehrnoosh Eskandari1, Amir Hossein Alizadeh Bahmani1, Mehdi Hoorang1
1Health Policy Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Objectives:
Several factors influence medication patterns. The purpose of this study was to look into the role of social determinants in the use of prescribed and non-prescribed medications in a population-based setting of people over 18 in a southern metropolis of Iran (Shiraz) for 2 years.
Study Design:
Prospective population-based cross-sectional.
Methods:
This descriptive and cross-sectional survey was done in 2018-2020. A total of 1016 participants were randomly selected based on their postal codes and recruited to the study. The demographic characteristics (age, sex, and education), social profiles (insurance, supplementary insurance, health status, and daily exercise plan), and outpatient visits (family/general physician or specialist/ subspecialist) were recorded by gathering sheets. Descriptive analyses and multinomial logistic analyses were carried out using SPSS software.
Results:
The medication use pattern was classified into three categories: non-prescribed type I, non-prescribed type II, and prescribed. The mean age of participants was 45.54 ± 15.82 years. The results indicated that most of them took their medication without a prescription (non-prescribed type II). However, people who had insurance and referred to a family physician commonly used the prescribed medications. This study also found that patients who visited a family doctor or a general practitioner used fewer prescribed drugs than those who visited a specialist.
Conclusion:
This study describes social determinants as additional effective factors in health services that influence the use of prescribed and non-prescribed medications in Shiraz. These evidence- based findings can help policymakers to plan the best programs.
Related Concept Videos
01:12Analysis of Population Pharmacokinetic Data
01:02Prescription, Nonprescription and Orphan Drugs
The misuse and addiction to prescription drugs is a growing problem that can affect people of all age groups, specifically teenagers. This can happen when prescription medications are used in ways not intended by the prescriber, such as taking someone else's prescription or using medication for...
01:19Pharmacovigilance
This process, termed pharmacovigilance, aims to detect, evaluate, and minimize harmful effects related to medication use. The data collection for pharmacovigilance depends on spontaneous reporting systems, where healthcare professionals or patients voluntarily report suspected ADRs.
In some cases, there...
01:23Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
01:21Factors Affecting Drug Response: Overview
01:19Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Miscellaneous Factors
Age plays a significant role due to differences in body composition among different age groups. Infants, for instance, have a higher proportion of total body water and lower albumin levels, a protein that binds drugs in the bloodstream. This unique composition in infants enhances the...