Self Medication - Dimensions & Determinants

Literature in the field of marketing and consumer behavior of OTC medicines was studied in the healthcare sector. It is evident that consumer behavior towards medicines is very different from the other sectors. Medicines in India like in other developing and most least developed countries are easily available at local pharmacies. It is not very uncommon to walk into a pharmacy with a prescription and notice a patient with minor complaints like headache or stomach pain asking the pharmacist for a quick fix or a remedy. The above stories highlight a common practice that is fast spreading its roots in the developing world. Commonly known as self-medication, the phenomenon is ambiguous and is increasingly being practiced worldwide for different reasons.