Malak Khalifeh^{1, 2,}, Nicholas Moore¹, Pascale Salameh²

Introduction: With the increasing range of potent medicines available for sale 'over-the-counter' (OTC) in community pharmacies and the absence of data in Lebanon related to OTC abuse, this study sought to find opinions of the public regarding OTC medicines generally and explore views around potential misuse and abuse. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted in a community-based pharmacy setting in Lebanon. A structured random interview was used to patients visiting community pharmacy seeking for OTC drugs. Baseline characteristics and reason for self-medication were collected. The questionnaire consists of sections about sources and reasons of self-medication, attitudes towards community pharmacy and patient contact with pharmacies, attitudes towards the use of OTC medicines; views on OTC medicines’ use in terms of safety, potency and effectiveness. Result: Overall this study revealed the knowledge and attitude of general public toward OTC use in Lebanon. Self-presentation on previous experience of the same medication or through pharmacist advice. Almost half requested OTC medications more than twice per year. This show the important role of pharmacist in guiding the patients on the correct OTC use. Around 60% agreed that some non-prescription medicines may cause dependency or addiction if taken for a long period of time. Conclusion: The findings of this research should form the basis for future interventional plans to maximize benefits and minimize risks of self-medication practice. Educational programs to population, pharmacists and health care providers should be implemented to limit the potential misuse/abuse of these medicines.

self-medication, OTC, Lebanon, public views, knowledge, attitude