Painkillers among people aged 20-30 according to questionnaires

Abstract

Aim. Painkillers are one of the most widespread drugs on the pharmaceutical market, individual analgesics belong to the OTC (over-the-counter drug) group, which are also available outside pharmacies. The universality and wide availability of painkillers pose
a real problem of medication errors. The aim of the study was to examine the attitude of people aged 20-30 to taking painkillers and to examine the level of knowledge of the respondents about them.
Method. The study involved 70 people aged 20-30 who voluntarily fi lled in an original electronic questionnaire, which included the attitude of people of this age to taking  medications and questions assessing their knowledge about the medications they take. It included questions about the type of drugs taken, frequency, intensity of pain at which the respondents took analgesics and knowledge about possible adverse effects in the case of long-term use of analgesics or their overdose. The most numerous age group were people aged 20-30, they constituted 55.7% of the respondents. People aged 24-27 accounted for 24.3%, while 20% were people aged 28-30. Most respondents showed that their current place of residence is a city with over 500,000 inhabitants. Most of the respondents had secondary education and it amounted to 51.4%.
Results and conclusion. As many as 85.7% of people take painkillers. 35.7% of the respondents take medication once a month, while 34.3% take medication less frequently than once a month. 60.9% of people know the effects of chronic overuse of painkillers, but
as many as 39.1% of respondents have a knowledge defi cit in this regard. The study found that 89.9% of people aged 20-30 know how to safely use painkillers, only 10.1% do not know in this regard. Most people in this age group use drugs when the intensity of pain is 4, which means that the most numerous group of people takes drugs when the intensity of pain is very high. This indicates that drugs are not taken without necessity, which results in their chronic non-use, as a result of which the risk of side effects
caused by overuse of painkillers is minimised. The study showed that 35.7% take painkillers once a month and 34.3% less than once
a month. Mostly women take medication once a month, this could possibly be associated with menstrual pain. The survey shows that 60.9% of people know the effects of chronic overuse of painkillers. It follows that most of the respondents know the consequences of
overusing painkillers, but a large proportion of people in this age group show a defi cit of knowledge about what is dangerous to their health, therefore it is necessary to educate people aged 20-30 years in this regard.
Cognitive value. The conducted research shows the attitude of young people toward painkillers. The cognitive value is the selection of a specifi c research group which from an early age, has the possibility to observe easy and wide access to analgesics.