Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on the Antibiotic Usage among Patients and Caregivers at Outpatient Pharmacy, Sibu Hospital

Abstract

Introduction:

The spread of antibiotic resistance due to inappropriate and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has emerged as a growing problem globally in the 21st century. Substantial evidence showed that the general public played a pivotal role in increasing and spreading antibiotic resistance. The present study was designed to determine patients and caregivers' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards antibiotic use. Doctors' habits and patient-doctor relationship regarding antibiotics prescribing were explored as well.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was performed using a validated questionnaire self-administered by the patients and caregivers at the Outpatient Pharmacy Department (OPD) of Sibu Hospital from August 2019 to March 2020. Data were collected by using a convenience sampling method. Participants were above 18 years old, patients or caregivers who visited OPD of Sibu Hospital were aware of the term "antibiotics", accepted consent and provided complete responses.

Results:

Three hundred and eighteen randomly selected participants responded. Nearly half (42.1%) claimed that they were prescribed antibiotics within the past 12 months from the study period, while 23.9% confessed that they had purchased antibiotics from local or abroad pharmacies without prescriptions. However, 25.2% of them did not finish the antibiotic course. More than two-thirds of the respondents (88.0%) could correctly identify that antibiotics are effective against bacteria. However, 46.8% of them incorrectly thought that antibiotics could be used against the virus. The majority of respondents (88.9%) were well-informed that they needed to stop taking antibiotics as soon as possible if they experienced side effects from the antibiotic treatment and 58.2% of them recognised antibiotic resistance as a global problem. More than half (69.5%) of the respondents expressed a positive attitude on antibiotic usage, and most of them agreed that pharmacists (93.4%) and doctors (79.0%) often counselled them on the correct antibiotic usage. They also trusted the doctors’ decision on antibiotic prescribing.

Conclusion:

These findings highlighted the lacking in our public's education on antibiotics. It offers further insight into the need to design targeted and multifaceted interventions to empower the public of various age groups to reduce the KAP gaps on antibiotic usage to control the development and spread of antibiotic resistance.