Irresponsible self-medication has been a global public health problem in recent decades, both because of its individual (for example, intoxication) and collective (for example, microbial resistance to antibiotics) consequences. Interventions targeting this behavior have been isolated and different. Although there is evidence that their application can have benefits in different populations, a systematic collection of such interventions could not be found in the current literature. The aim for this review is to systematize the scientific literature about the different intervention alternatives on individual behaviors of irresponsible self-medication. This literature review uses a method of systematic research with keywords like “self-medication” and “intervention” in the bibliographic databases specialized in psychology, subscribed by the library of the Universidad del Rosario. As a result, we found that the interventions of irresponsible self-medication can be classified in two groups: (a) regulatory interventions, with direction “up to down”; these interventions suppose the action of national states through their laws or international organizations (for example: United Nations; and (b) educational interventions, with direction “down to up”; these interventions suppose actions with individuals and communities to teach about good use of medicines. The conclusion shows the need to complement both types of interventions, which, while demonstrating positive results in isolation, are insufficient to fully counteract this growing and complex phenomenon.
