Determinants of Maternal Self-Medication Practice for Children Under 5 Years of Age: A Community-Based Study in Dessie, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Self-medication and the irrational use of drugs are major public health concerns worldwide. The concept of self-medication involves the use of medicines for curative purposes without professional advice. This practice is more disastrous in children, where dosages vary with weight, age, or body surface area. This study is aimed at assessing the determinants of maternal self-medication practice in children under 5 years of age. METHODS: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Dessie Town. A semistructured questionnaire was used to interview mothers of under-five children. Data entry was done using Epi Data 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS Version 20. Logistic regression was done to identify association between the dependent and independent variables. RESULT: The overall prevalence of maternal self-medication practice for under-five children was 78.0% (95% CI: 74.7%-81.3%). In the multivariable analysis, mothers with children aged older than 1 year (AOR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.31-5.72), mothers aged > 35 years (AOR = 8.78, 95% CI: 3.28-23.54), mothers with primary education (AOR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.07-8.05), student mothers (AOR = 6.52, 95% CI: 1.68-25.27), and mothers with poor knowledge (AOR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.11-3.01) had significantly higher odds of practicing self-medication. Parity exhibited bidirectional associations: Having two children increased the odds of self-medication (AOR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.32-3.65), whereas having three or more children decreased the odds (AOR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.16-0.74) relative to mothers with one child. CONCLUSION: Maternal self-medication practice was high.. Hence, measures should be taken to improve mothers' knowledge, such as health education and awareness creation campaigns for mothers on the risks and potential consequences of self-medicating under-five children.