Community pharmacists are expected to have the necessary knowledge to give advice on safe and appropriate drug use during self-medication. However, the profession of pharmacist in Yemen has become less trustworthy and less reliable. In addition, quality of medication has been raising a lot of questions among consumers and fake medications have been entering the country without quality control checks. The aim of this study was to determine the consumer perception of health care services provided and its impact on self-medication practice in Sana’a city, Yemen. A self-administered questionnaire containing open-ended and closed-ended questions was developed and distributed among 400 consumers attending 10 community pharmacies in Sana’a City. All data obtained from the questionnaires were coded, entered, and analysed using Chi-square test and multiple logistic regressions. Prevalence of self-medication was found to be 90.7 %. The majority of respondents stated that they do not trust the health care services provided by physician (68.8%), community drug dispensers (78.2%), Ministry of Health (70.5%) or the quality of medicine dispensed by community pharmacies (59.7%). The trust of health care services provided by physicians and community drug dispensers were found to be significant predictors of self-medication practice. Those who did not trust health care services provided by physicians were more likely to use self-medication compared to those who did not (OR= 21.212, CI 95% 2.678-168.001, p= 0.004). Those who did not trust health care services provided by community drug dispensers were more likely to use self-medication compared to those who did not (OR= 2.746, CI 95% 1.048-7.195, p= 0.04). Consumers in Sana’a City have a negative overall perception of the services provided by community drug dispensers, physician and Ministry of Health and the quality of medication. An urgent intervention from health care authorities to adopt and to implement a new national drug policy with necessary laws and regulations is needed
Self-medication ; Trust ; Health Care Providers ; Community Pharmacy consumers ; Sana&rsquo ; a City ; Yemen