Public attitude and justification to purchase antibiotics in the Eastern region Al Ahsa of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Use of non-prescription antibiotics can portend danger and predispose the populace to changes in bacterial resistance pattern. The aims of this study were to (a) evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of residents of Al-Ahsa community, Saudi Arabia on the use of non-prescribed antibiotics. (b) To identify possible predictors (if any) for self-medication within the community. A cross-sectional survey study, using self-administered questionnaire was conducted in two sections; demographics and self-medication attitude (in form of self-antibiotic use). Questions contained the following outcomes; for demographics; gender, age, education level and common disease within the community. Whereas the second part evaluated sources of information, knowledge of antibiotics, frequency/duration of use, underlined illness in which drug use was employed, names of antibiotics used and awareness of adverse effects of antibiotics. Results revealed that the adult population in the 18-40 year age range constituted about 82.5% of the respondents. Also 18-29 age group made of 60.5% of the respondents and that 56.8% the respondents are university graduates. Cold (18.8%) and sore throat (13.0%) were the diseases commonly found among the community that drove them to using non-prescribed antibiotics. About 337 (72.8%) of the respondent mention the use of antibiotics to treat the illness, and 21 (4.5%) were aiming to prevent the illness. While, 19.4% of the respondents admitted to taking non-prescribed antibiotics for both prevention and treatment of illness. 43.6% of the respondents disclosed that they are not aware of the dangers of using non-prescribed antibiotics. In conclusion the use of non-prescribed antibiotics in this community is evident, as a significant number use them from previous experience for prevention and treatment of illness. Therefore introduction of rational use of drugs will help in limiting the attendant development of bacterial resistance.

The knowledge, practice, and attitude regarding antibiotic use among attendants of primary health care centres: a cross-sectional study in Qatar

“…This finding is similar to that unveiled by other studies, as that of Awad et al in Kuwait and Emeka et al in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia where the prevalence of self-medication among respondents was 27.5% and 73.7% respectively. 21,22 Similarly, about 16% of the participants in the current study requested antibiotic prescriptions via the phone; again indicating their confidence in self-medication. Thus, individuallevel characteristics predispose to this self-medication behaviour, such as: a perceived availability of antibiotics without prescription in certain countries, the high cost of a medical consultation, and the prevailing dissatisfaction towards medical practitioners.…”

Patients′ awareness of antibiotic use in Bahraini health centers and community pharmacies

“…Similar to other survey studies on antibiotic awareness, [9,10,16,17,19] this present study was also carried out in adults who were able to express their perceptions and understanding about antibiotic use and resistance. It should be noted that different studies have different objectives and emphases based on antibiotic circumstances.…”

“…This was quite similar to the study of McNulty et al [8] that noted one-third of the public still believe antibiotics are effective against coughs and colds. Emeka et al [10] also pointed out colds and sore throat are two important infections for which people tend to seek nonprescribed antibiotics for prevention rather than treatment. Although many patients themselves knew when they needed antibiotics, many of them did not want to get the medicines straightaway from pharmacies, except those being interviewed in the shops.…”

“…[5,6] The expectations of patients are of paramount importance and closely related to their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs or experiences in the medicine use over a period of time. [7] Although several studies focused on the investigation of the public's knowledge and attitudes, [8][9][10] and university students' understanding of antibiotic treatment and its resistance, [11,12] patients' awareness was not fully explored.…”

Synthesis of some quinoline-pyrazoline-based naphthalenyl thiazole derivatives and their evaluation as potential antimicrobial agents

“…It is reported that the infections caused by the antibiotic resistant bacteria kill about twenty thousand patients annually in the USA and also leads to economic loss [3]. The cases of AMR bacterial infections are also increasing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia due to irrational use of antibiotics as well as due to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of Saudi, non-Saudi and pilgrim population [4][5][6][7]. Another factor contributing to the development of AMR is failure to discover new antimicrobial agents [8][9][10].…”