Knowledge and attitudes about antibiotic use and resistance: A cross-sectional study among primary healthcare center attendees in an urban area, Alexandria, Egypt
4th International Conference on Medical Microbiology
May 20-21, 2019 | Vienna, Austria
Rayan R
Alexandria University, Egypt
Posters & Accepted Abstracts : Microbiol Curr Res
Abstract:
Antibiotic misuse and bacterial resistance are a significant public health concern worldwide. Egypt lacks policies and regulations concerning medication prescriptions. The study explores the knowledge and attitudes regarding antibiotic use and resistance among adults attending a primary healthcare center in an urban area of Alexandria. The researcher conducted a single point, descriptive cross-sectional study on 87 adults aged ≥18 years attending a primary healthcare center in an urban area of Alexandria in January 2019 using a semi-structured questionnaire to gather data about the knowledge and attitudes of using antibiotics and resistance through face-to-face interviewing method. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics to explore the respondents’ level of knowledge with respect to the use of antibiotics and resistance. High level of knowledge was assigned as > 66.7% of the total score. About 52.8 % of the respondents (63.2% of them were females) lack adequate knowledge about the use and resistance of antibiotics. Almost 65.6 % of males had less restrictive knowledge about the use of antibiotics and resistance than 45.5 % of the females. Simultaneously, 47.1 % of the respondents erroneously believed that antibiotics work on both bacterial and viral infections and 14.9 % thought it just fights viruses. Approximately, 66.7 % of them were unaware of the meaning of antibiotic resistance. Moreover, 33.3 % stated they have no role to play against bacterial resistance. 83.9 % of respondents knew that vaccination could prevent bacterial resistance. The findings display poor knowledge and attitudes of proper antibiotic use and resistance among respondents. Healthcare providers should utilize these findings to educate the public on how to rationally use antibiotics and the health hazards of bacterial resistance.
Biography:
E-mail:
rayanr@alexu.edu.egPDF HTML