Abstract:

Rational drug use has a preventive and therapeutic role. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the rational drug use lesson given to university students. The study, which was planned as a quasi-experimental study, was carried out at a university in the Eastern Black Sea region between February and May 2022. Eighty-one students studying at the faculty of health sciences, attending the rational drug use lesson, and filling in the data collection tools were included in the study. Personal Information Form and Rational Drug Use Scale (RDUS) were used to collect data. Number and percentage were used for descriptive statistics, and mean (X) ± standard deviation (SD) minimum-maximum were used for continuous variables. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used for pre-and post-evaluation test results analysis. Mann Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis test were used to compare some characteristics of the students and their scale scores. The mean age of the students is 21,59±1,23 (min=19, max=26) and the rate of female students is 60.5%. While the students’ total pre-test RDUS score was 35,35±4,37 (min=21, max=42), the post-test RDUS total score was 37,23±3,84 (min=24, max=42). The difference was statistically significant when the pre-and post-test RDUS full scores were compared (z=-3.547, p<0,001). There was an increase in the RDUS scores of the students who received an education. It can be suggested that this subject should be added to all university curricula as a lesson to raise awareness and awareness about rational drug use among university students, who constitute an important social group of society.

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