Nonprescription Use of Methylphenidate among University Students in the Pharmacy Course: a Barrier to the Rational Use of Drugs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21270/archi.v11i3.5570Keywords:
Prescription Drug Misuse, Methylphenidate, Students, PharmacyAbstract
Introduction: Methylphenidate is currently the most used psychostimulant in the world. Healthy people, mainly students, use methylphenidate to improve concentration, attention, and academic performance or for recreational purposes, without a prescription. Objective: Evaluate the nonprescription use of methylphenidate among university students in the pharmacy course at a private college in the city of Natal-RN, as well as to determine the main reasons for use, forms of acquisition and possible adverse effects. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive, and observational study. The instrument used for gathering data was a standar questionnaire, applied by the researchers between the months of September and November 2019. Results: 136 volunteer students participated in the research, of which 58% said they had already used some psychostimulants during graduation. The prevalence of methylphenidate consumption for neuro-improvement by students was 7.35% of the population studied, being mostly male. Methylphenidate consumption was higher in the population aged 19 to 29 years (10.44%). The most cited form of acquisition was through friends. The data found showed a prevalence of the misuse and irrational use of methylphenidate by students of the pharmacy course, since there was no medical prescription for use. Conclusion: Despite the restricted population studied, this work serves as an incentive for further studies, and thus age as a means of drawing preventive and educational measures to reduce the practice of self-medication.
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