Faiz Ullah Khan1,2,3,4, Farman Ullah Khan1,2,3,4, Khezar Hayat1,2,3,5, Jie Chang1,2,3,4, Amna Saeed1,2,3,4, Zakir Khan6,7, Muhammad Ashraf8, Usman Malik Rasheed1,2,3,4, Naveel Atif1,2,3,4, Wenjing Ji1,2,3,4, Muhammad Majid Aziz1,2,3,4, Yu Fang1,2,3,4. 1. Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an, China. 2. Center for Drug Safety and Policy Research, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an, China. 3. Shaanxi Centre for Health Reform and Development Research , Xi'an, China. 4. Research Institute for Drug Safety and Monitoring, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, China's Western Technological Innovation Harbor , Xi'an, China. 5. Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences , Lahore, Pakistan. 6. Departmentof Pharmacy, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad , Pakistan. 7. Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, Cukurova University , Adana, Turkey. 8. Department of Pharmacy, University of Malakand , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Abstract
Objective: Inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance around the globe. The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among consumers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 to September 2019. The participants visiting community pharmacies to buy the antibiotics were approached by data collectors. The descriptive analysis, Kruskal Wallis, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests were used for data analysis through SPSS. Results: 399 participants at three pharmacies with male (n = 352, 88.2%), age (years) group between 34 to 41(n = 138, 34.6%), uneducated (n = 128, 32.1%), and higher education (n = 76, 19.0%) level of the participants were noted. Poor to moderate knowledge were observed; participants were unaware of the risk and misuse of antibiotics at all three pharmacies. By some means, a positive attitude noted, but the storage of antibiotics at home (Median = 2, IQR = 2) was preferred to use when needed. Most of the respondents didn't follow the actual dosage regimen as prescribed (n = 266, 66.7%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: A lack of knowledge and malpractices toward antibiotics use among consumers were observed. Education and awareness of the public about antibiotic resistance is the need of the hour.
Objective: Inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the main causes of antibiotic resistance around the globe. The present study was aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices toward antibiotics and antibiotic resistance among consumers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 to September 2019. The participants visiting community pharmacies to buy the antibiotics were approached by data collectors. The descriptive analysis, Kruskal Wallis, and Mann-Whitney statistical tests were used for data analysis through SPSS. Results: 399 participants at three pharmacies with male (n = 352, 88.2%), age (years) group between 34 to 41(n = 138, 34.6%), uneducated (n = 128, 32.1%), and higher education (n = 76, 19.0%) level of the participants were noted. Poor to moderate knowledge were observed; participants were unaware of the risk and misuse of antibiotics at all three pharmacies. By some means, a positive attitude noted, but the storage of antibiotics at home (Median = 2, IQR = 2) was preferred to use when needed. Most of the respondents didn't follow the actual dosage regimen as prescribed (n = 266, 66.7%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: A lack of knowledge and malpractices toward antibiotics use among consumers were observed. Education and awareness of the public about antibiotic resistance is the need of the hour.
Entities:
Keywords:
Pakistan; antibiotic resistance; attitude and practices; consumer; knowledge; pharmacy