A population-base survey on knowledge, attitude and awareness of the general public on antibiotic use and resistance

Abstract

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the awareness and knowledge of antibiotic usage and antibiotic resistance among the general public in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. It also tries to decipher whether the level of education and the professional status of an individual has a positive association with the level of knowledge on antibiotic resistance. Methods: A population-base survey involving members of the public was conducted from August to November 2019. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from 632 respondents. Data were analyzed through SPSS v.21 using Chi square statistics and multivariate regression. Differences in knowledge were evaluated using ANOVA and the assumption of equal variance was tested with Levene statistics. Results: The response rate was 74.3%. Lower educational status group had a greater knowledge level (39.7%) on antibiotic resistance. Despite the high score, the lowest educational status group, (M = 1.82, SD = 0.769), middle educational status group (M = 1.98, SD = 0.748), and the high educational status group (M = 1.88, SD = 0.773) were not significantly different from each other with regard to their general knowledge level on antibiotic resistance (P < 0.05). The study revealed that, working in the healthcare sector is a major contributor to the level of knowledge on antibiotic resistance. Conclusion: Given the scale of the issue on antibiotic resistance and the fact that attempts to resolve it will involve efforts on the part of all, it is important that the public is aware of the importance of the issue of antibiotic resistance, its implications and what they can do to address it. The level of knowledge among respondents with lower educational status should be enough evidence to introduce more educational campaigns on antibiotic resistance.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Analysis of Antibiotics Use and Misuse in Tertiary Care Rural Hospital Patients

“…Also, about 75% respondents are not aware that antibiotics can negatively alter our own natural bacterial flora. This finding are correlates with various past studies studies [22,11,12,13].…”

“…Patients aged 18 years or above were included in study. Well-structured questionnaires were prepared in English and official regional language Marathi.The questionnaires mostly based on the questions taken from various previous studies, which were edited in context with the objectives of the study [11,12,13]. A literature review of past similar studies of antibiotics misuse was done to identify potential domains for the study instrument and changes made to suit the local population.…”

Public Health Literacy, Knowledge, and Awareness Regarding Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Almost two-thirds (62.6%) of those surveyed had adequate health literacy, which is slightly higher than the 57.2% previously reported in a cross-sectional study on the impact of health literacy on self-medication practice [ 25 ]. In line with earlier research [ 16 , 35 ], the findings of this study showed that health literacy levels were comparable across groups, with the exception of the education levels, which had a substantial effect on health literacy. This finding implies that higher education levels provide more broad exposure to antibiotic and health-behavior-related information.…”

“…Consistent with previous research, approximately half of those surveyed in this study indicated that pharmacies are their primary source of self-medicated antibiotics [13,26,44]. While pharmacists are responsible for promoting safe and cost-effective drug use, the study findings support previous research emphasizing the pharmacist's role in referring patients with infectious diseases to physicians, advocating for prudent antibiotic use, and preventing antimicrobial resistance [13,35,45].…”

The Knowledge of Antibiotics and Their Uses Against Various Diseases Among the Dormitory Students of a Residential University in Bangladesh: A Pilot Study

“…They used those antibiotics for the treatment of mostly cold 50.8%, cough/chest pain 33.1%, stomach ache 16.9% and skin infection 9.2% 5 . In current study most of the students (64.1%) knew that antibiotic works against bacteria but other answers weren't satisfactory 9 . But the positive sign was that selfmedication of antibiotic was markedly less (2.1%).…”