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Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding antibiotics of the general population. METHODS: The study sample consisted of adult subjects who consulted general practitioners at health centers in Serbia and agreed to complete the questio...

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Autores principales: Horvat, Olga J., Tomas, Ana D., Paut Kusturica, Milica M., Savkov, Alisa V., Bukumirić, Dragica U., Tomić, Zdenko S., Sabo, Ana J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5507268/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28700631
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180799
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author Horvat, Olga J.
Tomas, Ana D.
Paut Kusturica, Milica M.
Savkov, Alisa V.
Bukumirić, Dragica U.
Tomić, Zdenko S.
Sabo, Ana J.
author_facet Horvat, Olga J.
Tomas, Ana D.
Paut Kusturica, Milica M.
Savkov, Alisa V.
Bukumirić, Dragica U.
Tomić, Zdenko S.
Sabo, Ana J.
author_sort Horvat, Olga J.
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding antibiotics of the general population. METHODS: The study sample consisted of adult subjects who consulted general practitioners at health centers in Serbia and agreed to complete the questionnaire. A total of 668 questionnaires were distributed; 500 respondents completed the entire questionnaire (response rate 74.85%). RESULTS: The average age was 51.65 ± 16.56 years, 60.80% of the respondents were women. The median antibiotic knowledge score was 9. Predictors of adequate antibiotic knowledge were higher education level and a family member whose ocuppation was related to health-care. Overall, 58.4% of respondents believed that antibiotics could be used to treat common cold. Around a half of the respondents (47.2%) self-medicated with antibiotics at least once during their life-time, and around a quarter (24.2%) during the last treatment of infection. Patients with inadequate knowledge had 3 times higher chances of self-medicating with antibiotics compared to those with adequate knowledge. Although 98.20% of respondents claimed that antibiotic treatment should be started after a visit to a doctor and receiving a prescription, only 65.8% obtained antibiotics with prescription from a doctor during the last infection. CONCLUSIONS: Although these results demonstrate that respondents had a relatively adequate level of knowledge regarding antibiotics use, some areas of misconceptions and improper behavior were identified. Therefore, further rationalization should be focused on educational campaigns targeting the behavior of patients with regard to antibiotic use.
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spelling pubmed-55072682017-07-25 Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia? Horvat, Olga J. Tomas, Ana D. Paut Kusturica, Milica M. Savkov, Alisa V. Bukumirić, Dragica U. Tomić, Zdenko S. Sabo, Ana J. PLoS One Research Article INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding antibiotics of the general population. METHODS: The study sample consisted of adult subjects who consulted general practitioners at health centers in Serbia and agreed to complete the questionnaire. A total of 668 questionnaires were distributed; 500 respondents completed the entire questionnaire (response rate 74.85%). RESULTS: The average age was 51.65 ± 16.56 years, 60.80% of the respondents were women. The median antibiotic knowledge score was 9. Predictors of adequate antibiotic knowledge were higher education level and a family member whose ocuppation was related to health-care. Overall, 58.4% of respondents believed that antibiotics could be used to treat common cold. Around a half of the respondents (47.2%) self-medicated with antibiotics at least once during their life-time, and around a quarter (24.2%) during the last treatment of infection. Patients with inadequate knowledge had 3 times higher chances of self-medicating with antibiotics compared to those with adequate knowledge. Although 98.20% of respondents claimed that antibiotic treatment should be started after a visit to a doctor and receiving a prescription, only 65.8% obtained antibiotics with prescription from a doctor during the last infection. CONCLUSIONS: Although these results demonstrate that respondents had a relatively adequate level of knowledge regarding antibiotics use, some areas of misconceptions and improper behavior were identified. Therefore, further rationalization should be focused on educational campaigns targeting the behavior of patients with regard to antibiotic use. Public Library of Science 2017-07-10 /pmc/articles/PMC5507268/ /pubmed/28700631 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180799 Text en © 2017 Horvat 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 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Horvat, Olga J.
Tomas, Ana D.
Paut Kusturica, Milica M.
Savkov, Alisa V.
Bukumirić, Dragica U.
Tomić, Zdenko S.
Sabo, Ana J.
Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title_full Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title_fullStr Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title_full_unstemmed Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title_short Is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in Serbia?
title_sort is the level of knowledge a predictor of rational antibiotic use in serbia?
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5507268/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28700631
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180799
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