The prevalence and patterns of self-medication with antibiotics in Jordan: A community-based study

Self-medication with antibiotics is one of the leading causes of antibiotic resistance and drug therapy problems, making antibiotic self-medication practices a global concern. Despite global efforts to limit these practices, self-medication with antibiotics remains prevalent in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and patterns of self-medication with antibiotics in Jordan and to compare the findings of self-medication practices with antibiotics with results from 2006.

A cross-sectional community-based study used a convenient sampling technique and recruited a large sample from all over Jordan. Between February and April 2019 trained 5th-year pharmacy students recruited participants (eg, door to door) who had taken antibiotics in the preceding month. The questionnaire consisted of 14 questions that aimed to describe the patterns of self-medication with antibiotics.

A total of 1928 participants took part in this study. Of the 1928 respondents, 40.4% reported having used an antibiotic without a prescription in the previous month. Participants who had self-medicated with antibiotics had primarily used them for sore throat and influenza. Self-medicated participants had obtained antibiotics primarily from pharmacies (57.2%) and relied primarily on pharmacists (34.8%) and their own previous experience (35.2%) for information on the proper use of antibiotics. The rate of self-medication with antibiotics in Jordan in 2019 (40.4%) had not changed significantly since 2006 (39.5%, P = .295). However, self-medication practices (eg, source of antibiotic supply and information) have changed over the year.

The findings of this study revealed that the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics in Jordan remains high. This is a significant concern that requires a quick response from the government authorities to develop a collaborative approach to stop the dispensing of antibiotics without a prescription.