University Students’ Antibiotic Use and Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance: What Are the Common Myths?
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Sample Size Calculation
2.3. Study Instrument
2.4. Pilot Test
2.5. Data Analysis
2.6. Ethical Approval
3. Results
3.1. Demographic Data
3.2. Antibiotic Usage
3.3. Knowledge about Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Resistance
3.4. Knowledge about Antibiotic Use in Agriculture and Food-Producing Animals
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Demographic Data | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | Male | 31 | 24 |
Female | 99 | 76 | |
Age | 18–21 | 68 | 52 |
22–25 | 54 | 42 | |
26–29 | 8 | 6 | |
Nationality | Bruneian | 129 | 99 |
International | 1 | 1 | |
Place of residence | Urban | 103 | 80 |
Suburban | 26 | 20 | |
Year of Study | Year 1 | 34 | 26 |
Year 2 | 23 | 18 | |
Year 3 | 36 | 28 | |
Year 4 | 37 | 28 | |
Faculty | Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) | 65 | 50 |
Faculty of Science (FOS) | 45 | 35 | |
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) | 12 | 9 | |
School of Business and Economics (SBE) | 8 | 6 |
Statements | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|
When did you last take antibiotics? | ||
In the last month | 23 | 18 |
In the last 6 months | 23 | 18 |
In the last year | 16 | 12 |
More than a year ago | 28 | 22 |
Never | 9 | 7 |
Can’t remember | 31 | 24 |
Did you get advice from a physician, nurse, or pharmacist on how to take them? | ||
Yes | 98 | 81 |
No | 14 | 12 |
Can’t remember | 9 | 7 |
On that occasion, where did you get the antibiotics? | ||
Public hospital/health clinic | 70 | 58 |
Private hospital/clinic | 37 | 31 |
Pharmacy | 3 | 2 |
The Internet | 0 | 0 |
Friend or family member | 5 | 4 |
I had them saved up from a previous time | 4 | 3 |
Somewhere/someone else | 0 | 0 |
Can’t remember | 2 | 2 |
Characteristics | Knowledge Score | p Value (Fisher’s Exact Test) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Good | Moderate | Poor | |||
n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||
Gender | Male | 16 (24) | 9 (20) | 6 (33) | 0.511 |
Female | 50 (76) | 37 (80) | 12 (67) | ||
Age | 18–21 | 45 (68) | 19 (41) | 4 (22) | 0.001 * |
22–25 | 18 (27) | 23 (50) | 13 (72) | ||
26–29 | 3 (5) | 4 (9) | 1 (6) | ||
Nationality | Bruneian | 65 (98) | 46 (100) | 18 (100) | 1.000 |
International | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | ||
Place of Residence | Urban | 51 (78) | 35 (76) | 17 (94) | 0.241 |
Suburban | 14 (22) | 11 (24) | 1 (6) | ||
Year of Study | Year 1 | 21 (32) | 11 (24) | 2 (11) | 0.093 |
Year 2 | 16 (24) | 6 (13) | 1 (6) | ||
Year 3 | 15 (23) | 13 (28) | 8 (44) | ||
Year 4 | 14 (21) | 16 (35) | 7 (39) | ||
Faculty | Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) | 50 (76) | 15 (33) | 0 | <0.001 * |
Faculty of Science (FOS) | 14 (21) | 22 (48) | 9 (50) | ||
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) | 2 (3) | 6 (13) | 4 (22) | ||
School of Business and Economics (SBE) | 0 | 3 (7) | 5 (28) |
Question/Statements | Frequency (n) | Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|
When do you think you should stop taking antibiotics once you have begun treatment | ||
When you feel better | 10 | 8 |
When you have taken all of the antibiotics as directed | 119 | 92 |
Do not know | 1 | 1 |
It is okay to use antibiotics that were given to a friend or family member as long as they were used to treat the same illness | ||
True | 6 | 5 |
False | 117 | 90 |
Do not know | 7 | 5 |
It is okay to buy the same antibiotics or request them from a physician if you are sick and they helped you get better when you had the same symptoms before | ||
True | 26 | 20 |
False | 91 | 70 |
Do not know | 13 | 10 |
Statement | Correct Answer, n (%) | Incorrect Answer, n (%) | Unsure, n (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Antibiotic resistance occurs when your body becomes resistant to antibiotics and they no longer work as well | 27 (21) | 99 (76) | 4 (3) |
Many infections are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment by antibiotics | 91 (70) | 10 (8) | 29 (22) |
If bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, it can be very difficult or impossible to treat the infections they cause | 108 (83) | 9 (7) | 13 (10) |
Antibiotic resistance is an issue that could affect me or my family | 97 (75) | 14 (11) | 19 (15) |
Antibiotic resistance is an issue in other countries, but not here | 87 (67) | 9 (7) | 34 (26) |
Antibiotic resistance is only a problem for people who take antibiotics regularly | 68 (52) | 40 (31) | 22 (17) |
Bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics can be spread from person to person | 52 (40) | 39 (30) | 39 (30) |
Antibiotic-resistant infections could make medical procedures like surgery, organ transplantation, and cancer treatment much more dangerous | 86 (66) | 6 (5) | 38 (29) |
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Share and Cite
Shahpawee, N.S.; Chaw, L.L.; Muharram, S.H.; Goh, H.P.; Hussain, Z.; Ming, L.C. University Students’ Antibiotic Use and Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance: What Are the Common Myths? Antibiotics 2020, 9, 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9060349
Shahpawee NS, Chaw LL, Muharram SH, Goh HP, Hussain Z, Ming LC. University Students’ Antibiotic Use and Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance: What Are the Common Myths? Antibiotics. 2020; 9(6):349. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9060349
Chicago/Turabian StyleShahpawee, Nurul Shaheera, Li Ling Chaw, Siti Hanna Muharram, Hui Poh Goh, Zahid Hussain, and Long Chiau Ming. 2020. "University Students’ Antibiotic Use and Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance: What Are the Common Myths?" Antibiotics 9, no. 6: 349. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9060349