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Parents' perceptions of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance (PAUSE): a qualitative interview study
Oliver Van Hecke1, Chris C Butler1, Kay Wang1
1Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Insights
Parents often underestimate antibiotic resistance risks for their children, believing they are low users. Future campaigns should use relatable outcomes and accessible formats to improve understanding of antibiotic risks and benefits.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health Communication
Background:
- Public misconception regarding antibiotic use and resistance persists.
- Preschool children are vulnerable to unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions due to frequent primary care visits for self-limiting infections.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parental perceptions of antibiotic use and resistance in young children with acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs).
- To identify parent-acceptable strategies for minimizing antibiotic resistance within families.
Main Methods:
- Conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 parents of preschool children experiencing acute RTIs in Oxfordshire, UK (2016-17).
- Explored parental beliefs about antibiotics, understanding of antibiotic resistance, and views on public awareness campaigns.
- Employed thematic analysis for data interpretation.
Main Results:
- Parents perceived their families as low risk for antibiotic resistance due to infrequent antibiotic use.
- Antibiotic resistance was rarely considered a potential harm by parents.
- Parents felt morally responsible when adhering to public health campaign messages.
Conclusions:
- Future communication strategies should emphasize relatable outcomes like infection recurrence to inform parents about antibiotic risks and benefits.
- Accessible dissemination formats, such as face-to-face interactions at community events, are recommended for engaging parents.
- Improving parental understanding is crucial for informed decision-making regarding antibiotic use in young children.
Background:
There remains public misconception about antibiotic use and resistance. Preschool children are at particular risk of receiving unnecessary antibiotics because they commonly present in primary care and many childhood infections are self-limiting.
Objectives:
The aim of our study was to explore parents' perceptions and understanding of antibiotic use and resistance in the context of their young child with an acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) and to explore strategies parents would find acceptable to minimize antibiotic resistance for their families.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 parents of preschool children who recently had an acute RTI across greater Oxfordshire, UK (2016-17 winter). We explored their beliefs about antibiotics, understanding of antibiotic resistance and views on current public antibiotic awareness campaigns at the time. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Results:
Parents had a sense of optimism and considered their families to be at low risk of antibiotic resistance because their families were 'low users' of antibiotics. Very few parents considered antibiotic resistance as a possible harm of antibiotics. Parents thought they were acting morally responsibly by following campaign messages. They wanted future campaigns to have a relevant, accessible message for families about the impact of antibiotic resistance.
Conclusions:
Future communication about the potential impact of unnecessary antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance needs to focus on outcomes that parents of young children can relate to (e.g. infection recurrence) and in a format that parents will engage with (e.g. face-to-face dissemination at playgroups and parent/child community events) to make a more informed decision about the risks and benefits of antibiotics for their child.