Self-medication with antibiotics and awareness of antibiotic resistance among population in Arar city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Self-medication with pharmaceutical products can be defined as the use of these products without a medical prescription, and the production, distribution, and sale of these products are the client’s responsibility, while they think it is within rational usage. Among these products, antibiotics remain the most serious problem leading to the spread of antibiotic resistance, with consequences of increased morbidity, mortality, and extended hospital stays.
 Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among Arar city population and assessing their awareness of antibiotic resistance. Data had been collected through a self-administered validated online questionnaire. Data entry and analysis were performed using a statistical package for the social science program (SPSS) version 20.
 Results: The overall number of respondents to our survey was 462, with 56.7% female and 43.3% male participants. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics was (77.5%). The main reasons for self-medication with antibiotics were ease of use (54.6%) and cost-saving (24.8%). When asked about what they think about self-medication with antibiotics for self-care, 20.1% of our participants thought that it is a good practice and 41.6% thought that it is an acceptable practice. 81.4 % of respondents thought that antibiotic resistance occurs when your body becomes resistant to antibiotics and no longer works well
 Conclusions: In the Northern region, despite the open and rapid access to medical care services, it appears that a high proportion of young adult population prefers custom antibiotics without a medical prescription.

Self-Medication Practices Among the General Population in Al-Baha City, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…A previous investigation reported that individuals predominantly relied on their relatives, friends, and previous prescriptions as sources of information when attempting SM [16]. This study demonstrated relatively similar results, where the primary sources of information on SM with antibiotics were family/friends (21.6%), pharmacists (20.5%), internet/social media (18.7%), previous prescriptions (15.8%), and instruction sheets in medicine (6.9%).…”

Influence of leftover antibiotics on self-medication in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study

“…1 A study revealed that 81.4% of the respondents believed that antibiotic resistance occurs when the body develops a resistance to antibiotics and ceases to function properly. 19 When asked what they believe could be done to decrease antibiotic resistance, 88.08% (n=650) of respondents believe that antibiotics campaigns can alter community habits.…”

“…While our research yielded similar results to the first study, with 71.41% (n=527) of respondents stating that they complete the course as instructed; the first study had a larger sample size. 18 The presence of expired pharmaceuticals in the home can increase the risk of toxicity, suicide, and accidental poisoning of children, 19 whereas the presence of unused antibiotics indicates antibiotic misuse and may increase the likelihood of antibiotic resistance. 20 Storage at an improper temperature could have negative consequences.…”

Is YouTube a Reliable Source of Information on Antimicrobial Resistance in the Arab World?

“…This includes self-medication due to lack of prescription obligation, incorrect dosage, missed doses, and reuse of antibiotics from past prescriptions [3,4]. Studies from some Arabic countries showed high rates of inappropriate use of antibiotics as demonstrated by the high rates of antibiotics self-medication, which ranged from 44 to 77.5% [5][6][7][8][9]. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, have a high rate of Gram-negative bacterial resistance, such as extended-spectrum beta-lactamases, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii [10][11][12].…”