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Public practices on antibiotic use: A cross-sectional study among Qatar University students and their family members.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health problem and a global concern. The inappropriate use of antibiotics has been identified by the World Health Organization as a major risk factor for AMR. METHODS:The purpose of this research study is to assess the prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic use among Qatar University students and their family members, detect sociodemographic factors associated with inappropriate use, evaluate the knowledge and attitude towards antibiotic use, and assess respondents' opinions on healthcare providers' antibiotic prescription practices. Participants (N = 596) completed a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, the Pearson chi-squared test, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. RESULTS:The major inappropriate antibiotic use practices followed by the respondents were using antibiotics without prescription (82%), not completing the antibiotic course (45%), and obtaining antibiotics from the pharmacy without prescription (23%). The chi-square test results showed that age (p = 0.031) and nationality (p = 0.041) were associated with using antibiotics without prescription. In addition, respondents less than 21 years of age (p<0.001), who had only a secondary education (p = 0.007), and who lived in one of the large and crowded cities in Qatar (p = 0.011) had higher odds of stopping the antibiotic before completing the course. Our study also revealed that almost 60% of the respondents had inadequate knowledge and a negative attitude towards antibiotic use. Nationality and municipality were the independent factors associated with having appropriate knowledge of antibiotic use. Univariate logistic regression analyses in our study demonstrated that older (>26 years), married and university-graduated participants were more likely to have a positive attitude towards antibiotic use than others. Respondents also reported that neither doctors nor pharmacists were providing adequate patient education about appropriate antibiotic use. The Socio-Ecological Model was applied to interpret the findings and frame implications. CONCLUSION:The findings shed light on various factors shaping antibiotic use practices and provide evidence to design multilevel behavioral interventions to improve public practices of antibiotic use.

SUBMITTER: Aljayyousi GF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6879134 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Public practices on antibiotic use: A cross-sectional study among Qatar University students and their family members.

Aljayyousi Ghadir Fakhri GF Abdel-Rahman Manar E ME El-Heneidy Asmaa A Kurdi Rana R Faisal Eman E

PloS one 20191126 11

<h4>Background</h4>Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health problem and a global concern. The inappropriate use of antibiotics has been identified by the World Health Organization as a major risk factor for AMR.<h4>Methods</h4>The purpose of this research study is to assess the prevalence of inappropriate antibiotic use among Qatar University students and their family members, detect sociodemographic factors associated with inappropriate use, evaluate the knowledge and attitude ...[more]

PMID: 31770408

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Project description:ObjectiveThis cross-sectional study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of Vietnamese university students regarding COVID-19.MethodsA validated questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.71) was used to survey 1,025 students. A convenience sampling method was used for recruiting students from April to May 2022. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test/Dunn test for multiple comparisons were employed to compare students' KAP scores between two groups and among three groups or more, respectively. Factors associated with students' COVID-19 KAP scores were determined via univariate and multivariate linear regression models. Variables in the multivariate linear regression models were chosen using the Bayesian Model Averaging method in R software version 4.2.0.ResultsA majority of students had good knowledge (75.61%), positive attitudes (98.24%), and good practices toward COVID-19 (94.93%). Regarding the COVID-19 knowledge, the proportions of students who knew that mosquito bites and exposure to/eating wild animals would not lead to COVID-19 infection were not high (47.22 and 34.34%, respectively). More importantly, 70.34% of students thought that vitamins and minerals could help prevent or cure COVID-19. Antibiotics were the first choice for COVID-19 treatment of 438 students (42.73%). Nearly half of students (48.0%) bought antibiotics to keep at home in case of COVID-19 infection. The average KAP scores of medical students (19.97 ± 3.99, 45.10 ± 3.94, 9.72 ± 1.78) and females (18.67 ± 4.44, 44.79 ± 3.79, 9.36 ± 1.84) were significantly higher than those of non-medical students (16.48 ± 4.37, 43.33 ± 4.03, 8.68 ± 1.87) and males (17.01 ± 4.55, 42.79 ± 4.39, 8.77 ± 1.97), respectively (p < 0.001). Older students were more likely to have good knowledge and practices than the younger ones (p < 0.001). In addition, students using websites of the World Health Organization/the Ministry of Health and scientific articles to seek COVID-19 information were significantly associated with higher KAP scores when compared with those not using these sources (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p = 0.00139, respectively).ConclusionStudents' KAP scores significantly varied by age, sex, major, and sources of COVID-19 information. Although many students had sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, and good preventive practices toward COVID-19, additional education and training strategies are paramount, especially for non-medical students and males.

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Dataset Information

Public practices on antibiotic use: A cross-sectional study among Qatar University students and their family members.

Publications

Public practices on antibiotic use: A cross-sectional study among Qatar University students and their family members.

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