Medicalization and use of analgesics, according to students of the Faculty of Medicine. A study conducted at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador

Abstract

Medicalization is understood as a process implicated in the daily life and as a part of the biomedical health system. Medical students are trained to be element of the health system, what it entails they have more possibilities to practice medicalization. Medicalization is a subject non studied in society. The objective of this study is to describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices of medicalization around the use, access and control of analgesics in students of Medicine School in PUCE Quito, 2020. From quantitative and qualitative data, a triangulation was performed: of the 788 students investigated, 53% know about medicalization and 66.83% associate it with drugs. However, in the interview only 3 out of 10 informants knew about the subject. 92.13% of the student population self-medicate, the main cause is pain. Self-medication is a common practice and begins at home due to family influence and refers to a cultural sense. Painkillers are used daily by students; the most used is acetaminophen (52.92%) followed by ibuprofen (33.25%) at least once a week. The reason of its use is due to its easy access and low economic cost. They have access to painkillers by buying at a pharmacy (60.78%) and store in medicine cabinets at home (32.86%), a family member oversees them, or no one is responsible for the painkillers.