Iranians' Self-Report Knowledge and Practice about Arbitrary Use of Antibiotics

Scientific studies revealed a high prevalence rate of self-medication among Iranians, nevertheless there are few studies exploring the factors affecting on.

This study was conducted to detect the knowledge and behaviour of individuals who take antibiotics arbitrarily.

The research population included all Iranian men and women between 20 and 60 years. The sample size based on previous studies and after applying the correction factor 1.6. Total of 950 subjects were involved in this cross-sectional study. Face and content validity (qualitative) tool was confirmed by expert faculty members. It was estimated based on Cronbach's alpha reliability 0.73. After coding, all data were entered into SPSS and analyzed.

The mean and SD of knowledge was 4.58±0.65. Sore throat (80%) and runny nose (70%) were the most common causes of antibiotic consumption in the participants. The most common reason for antibiotic use was its availability. More than 68% of participants said they never read the brochure of antibiotics. More than 51% of them were unable to understand the content of the brochure. There was a positive relation between participants' knowledge and performance. More than 60% of them had a history of dosage change.

Results of present study revealed that the study population did not possess the requisite knowledge about the appropriate behaviour in the use of antibiotics. It is recommended to do some educational program in order to improve their knowledge and behaviour. Further studies with larger sample in this regard are recommended.