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International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences Research Article
Public health strategic actions for reducing the dangers of Over-the-Counter (OTC) medications among rural dwellers in southeast, Nigeria
Ejiogu, C.C., Akanazu, C.O., Udensi, J.U., Ogwo, U.K., Anyanwu, E.O., Ohiri, J.C., Nwadinigwe, F.C., Kenechukwu, O.Q., Obasi, C.C., Mbanefo, D.N., Osuagwu, I.K., Ajoku, C.U.,Oparaojiaku, J.O.,Osumune, A.C., Ejezie
Year : 2026 | Volume: 11 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 256-263
Received on: 11/03/2026
Revised on: 27/03/2026
Accepted on: 20/04/2026
Published on: 01/05/2026
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Ejiogu, C.C., Akanazu, C.O., Udensi, J.U., Ogwo, U.K., Anyanwu, E.O., Ohiri, J.C., Nwadinigwe, F.C., Kenechukwu, O.Q., Obasi, C.C., Mbanefo, D.N., Osuagwu, I.K., Ajoku, C.U.,Oparaojiaku, J.O.,Osumune, A.C., Ejezie( 2026).
Public health strategic actions for reducing the dangers of Over-the-Counter (OTC) medications among rural dwellers in southeast, Nigeria
. International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences, 11( 3), 256-263.
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Abstract
The widespread availability of over-the-counter (OTC) medications offers benefits to the users for self-care, yet it poses significant public health risks, particularly among rural populations. This paper examined the public health dangers associated with OTC use and the public health strategic actions for public sensitization aimed at reducing the dangers of OTC medication use. A total of 350 respondents (adults, patients, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, community leaders, dispensaries etc) were selected randomly through a stratified basis from three (3) States in Southeast, Nigeria. Questionnaire and oral interview were used to collect data, which were analyzed using sample percentages presented in tabular forms. Results showed that the commonly used OTC medications include Analgesics and antipyretics (94.2%), herbal preparations (80.5%), anti-malarial drugs(80.0%), anti-diarrheal drugs (85.7%). The possible dangers as indicated by respondents include; drug overdose risk (78.9%), drug resistance(83.1%), adverse side effects (82.6%), drug interactions (77.1%) and others. The factors influencing OTC medicine use include; easy accessibility (98.5%) to patent medicine store, long waiting time in hospitals (88.5%), prior experience with illness (84.2%), pharmacist/patent medicine dealer advice (80.2%). The possible health risk associated with OTC medication as indicated by the respondents include drug toxicity and overdose (81.1%), liver damage (95.7%), kidney damage(97.1%), allergic reactions (91.4%). The proposed public strategic actions for OTC danger reduction include; health education campaign (98.2%), warning labels on drug packaging (92.8%), strengthening primary health-care (94.2%), media sensitization campaigns (88.5%), among others.
Keywords
Health, Medication, Over-the-counter, Risk, Drug.
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is published by International Journal of Zoology and Applied Biosciences under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
