Background and objective.Resistance to antibiotics is a public health threat. A number of studies confirm the relationship between antibiotic use and the resistance rate. As a whole, physicians represent a large proportion of the health professionals involved in the use of this therapeutic group. Our study therefore sought to ascertain the opinions and attitudes of GPs in Spain with respect to antibiotics and resistance.Methods.We used the focus group (FG) method, with each group comprising 4–12 primary care physicians and a moderator. Based on a previous systematic review, we drew up an agenda to be followed during the holding of the sessions. Group proceedings were recorded and the transcriptions then analysed separately by two researchers.Results.Five FGs were formed, including a total of 33 physicians. The factors/attitudes that influenced the prescribing of antibiotics by GPs were fear, complacency, insufficient knowledge and external responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry, patients and over-the-counter antibiotics. The groups felt that antibiotic resistance was not a problem at a community level.Conclusions.Identification of attitudes/knowledge related with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing will enable specific interventions to be designed, with the aim of targeting these shortcomings to improve antibiotic use and help reduce resistance.

Portuguese pharmacists perceive that antibiotic use and bacterial resistance could be improved, showing a behavioural intention to improve antibiotic dispensing habits.

ObjectivesAntibiotic resistance is a major public health concern and is greatly exacerbated by inappropriate antibiotic use at a community level. The aim of this study was to ascertain which attitudes of community pharmacists were related to inappropriate antibiotic dispensing.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of community pharmacists in a region situated in northern Spain (n = 393). Personal interviews were conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. The degree of agreement with each item of knowledge and attitude was measured using an unnumbered, horizontal visual analogue scale, with replies being scored from 0 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement). The data were analysed using logistic regression.ResultsOf the total of 286 pharmacists (72.8%) who completed the questionnaire, 185 (64.7%) acknowledged having undertaken dispensing of antibiotics without a medical prescription (DAwMP). Attitudes such as patient complacency, external responsibility, indifference and insufficient knowledge were shown to be related to DAwMP. In contrast, no association was found with any of the pharmacists' personal or professional traits.ConclusionsThis study confirms that, albeit unlawful, DAwMP is a common practice in Spanish pharmacies. DAwMP was seen to be usually associated with some of the attitudes evaluated.

Introduction: Although quitting motivation predicts smoking cessation, there have been inconsistent findings regarding motivation predicting long-term maintenance of abstinence. Moreover, most such research has been conducted in North America and the United Kingdom. The aim of this study was to examine motivation to quit as a predictor of smoking cessation and of abstinence maintenance in a Spanish sample. Method:The sample comprised 286 Spanish smokers undergoing psychological treatment for smoking cessation. Motivation to quit was assessed pre-treatment and posttreatment with the Readiness to Quit Ladder. Abstinence post-treatment and at 6 month followup was biochemically verified.Results: Participants with higher levels of pre-treatment and post-treatment motivation were more likely to be abstinent at the end of the treatment (OR = 1.36) and at 6 months followup (OR = 4.88). Among abstainers at the end of the treatment (61.9%), higher levels of motivation to quit post-treatment predicted maintaining abstinence at 6 months (OR = 2.83). Furthermore, participants who failed to quit smoking reported higher levels of motivation to quit post-treatment than they had pretreatment (p < .001).Conclusions: Motivation to quit smoking predicted short and long-term cessation, and also predicted long-term maintenance of abstinence. These results have implications for understanding motivational processes of smoking cessation in general, while extending research to Spanish smokers. They may also help in the design of cessation and relapse-prevention interventions. Specifically, the results suggest that motivational enhancement is important throughout the cessation and maintenance periods.

The final 11 item KAAR questionnaire appears to be valid, reliable and responsive.