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Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy
BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study were to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding antibiotics of the general population in Italy, and to assess the correlates of these outcomes of interest. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 630...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Public Library of Science
2013
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871686/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24376793 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084177 |
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author | Napolitano, Francesco Izzo, Maria Teresa Di Giuseppe, Gabriella Angelillo, Italo F. |
author_facet | Napolitano, Francesco Izzo, Maria Teresa Di Giuseppe, Gabriella Angelillo, Italo F. |
author_sort | Napolitano, Francesco |
collection | PubMed |
description | BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study were to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding antibiotics of the general population in Italy, and to assess the correlates of these outcomes of interest. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 630 parents of students attending nine randomly selected public primary and secondary schools. A self-administered questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics, knowledge about antibiotic use and resistance, attitudes and behaviors towards antibiotic use, and sources of information. RESULTS: A total of 419 parents participated. Only 9.8% knew the definition of antibiotic resistance and 21.2% knew when it was appropriate to use antibiotics. Respondents with higher education, employed, with a family member working in the health care sector, and with no need for additional information on antibiotics were more likely to know the definition of antibiotic resistance. One third (32.7%) self-classified them as users of self-medication with antibiotics and those with a lower self-rated health status, who did not use the physician as source of information on antibiotics, and who have attended a physician in the last year were more likely to use self-medication. One-fourth (22.7%) of those who had never been self-medicated would be willing to take an antibiotic without a prescription of a physician. Respondents were more likely to be willing to take antibiotics without a prescription if they were under 40 years of age, if they had a lower self-rated health status, if they did not know that antibiotics are not indicated for treating flu and sore throat, and if they knew that antibiotics are not indicated for treating colds. CONCLUSIONS: The survey has generated information about knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding antibiotics in the general population and effective public education initiative should provide practical and appropriate means to change their behavior. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3871686 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2013 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-38716862013-12-27 Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy Napolitano, Francesco Izzo, Maria Teresa Di Giuseppe, Gabriella Angelillo, Italo F. PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: The objectives of the study were to investigate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding antibiotics of the general population in Italy, and to assess the correlates of these outcomes of interest. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a random sample of 630 parents of students attending nine randomly selected public primary and secondary schools. A self-administered questionnaire included questions on demographic characteristics, knowledge about antibiotic use and resistance, attitudes and behaviors towards antibiotic use, and sources of information. RESULTS: A total of 419 parents participated. Only 9.8% knew the definition of antibiotic resistance and 21.2% knew when it was appropriate to use antibiotics. Respondents with higher education, employed, with a family member working in the health care sector, and with no need for additional information on antibiotics were more likely to know the definition of antibiotic resistance. One third (32.7%) self-classified them as users of self-medication with antibiotics and those with a lower self-rated health status, who did not use the physician as source of information on antibiotics, and who have attended a physician in the last year were more likely to use self-medication. One-fourth (22.7%) of those who had never been self-medicated would be willing to take an antibiotic without a prescription of a physician. Respondents were more likely to be willing to take antibiotics without a prescription if they were under 40 years of age, if they had a lower self-rated health status, if they did not know that antibiotics are not indicated for treating flu and sore throat, and if they knew that antibiotics are not indicated for treating colds. CONCLUSIONS: The survey has generated information about knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding antibiotics in the general population and effective public education initiative should provide practical and appropriate means to change their behavior. Public Library of Science 2013-12-23 /pmc/articles/PMC3871686/ /pubmed/24376793 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084177 Text en © 2013 Napolitano et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Napolitano, Francesco Izzo, Maria Teresa Di Giuseppe, Gabriella Angelillo, Italo F. Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title | Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title_full | Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title_fullStr | Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title_full_unstemmed | Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title_short | Public Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experience Regarding the Use of Antibiotics in Italy |
title_sort | public knowledge, attitudes, and experience regarding the use of antibiotics in italy |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3871686/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24376793 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084177 |
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