Background Use of antibiotics without a prescription is potentially unsafe and may increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance. We evaluated the effect of patient, health system, and clinical encounter factors on intention to use antibiotics without a prescription: (1) purchased in the United States (U.S.), (2) obtained from friends or relatives, (3) purchased abroad, or 4) from any of these sources. Methods Survey was performed January 2020 - June 2021 in six publicly-funded primary care clinics and two private emergency departments in Texas, U.S. Participants included adult patients visiting one of the clinical settings. Non-prescription use was defined as use of antibiotics without a prescription, and intended use was professed intention for future non-prescription antibiotic use. Results Of 564 survey respondents (33% Black and 47% Hispanic or Latino), 246 (43.6%) reported prior use of antibiotics without a prescription, and 177 (31.4%) reported intent to use antibiotics without a prescription. If feeling sick, respondents endorsed that they would take antibiotics: obtained from friends/relatives (22.3% of 564), purchased in the U.S. without a prescription (19.1%), or purchased abroad without a prescription (17.9%). Younger age, lack of health insurance and a perceived high cost of doctor visits were predictors of intended use of non-prescription antibiotics from any of the source. Other predictors of intended use were lack of transportation for medical appointments, language barrier to medical care, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity and being interviewed in Spanish. Conclusions Patients without health insurance who report a financial barrier to care are likely to pursue more dangerous non-prescription antimicrobials. This is a harm of the fragmented, expensive healthcare system that may drive increasing antimicrobial resistance and patient harm.

Background: The reported prevalence of nonprescription antibiotic use in the United States varies from 5% among socioeconomically and ethnically diverse primary care patients to 66% among Latino migrant workers. Reports indicate that people obtain and take antibiotics from stores or flea markets in the United States, friends or relatives, and leftover antibiotics from previous prescriptions. This unsafe practice may lead to unnecessary and inappropriate antibiotic use and increases the risk of antibiotic resistance. As groundwork to develop an intervention to decrease nonprescription antibiotic use, we mapped reported drivers of nonprescription use to the Kilbourne conceptual framework for advancing health disparities research. Methods: The Kilbourne framework consists of 3 phases: (1) detection of health disparities and identification of vulnerable populations, (2) understanding why disparities exist, and (3) reducing or eliminating disparities through interventions. We focused on the first 2 phases and mapped the identified drivers of nonprescription antibiotic use onto the key domains of the Kilbourne conceptual framework: patient, healthcare system, and clinical encounter factors. We also conducted brief field research to explore anecdotal reports regarding availability of nonprescription antibiotics in our community. Results: We found 8 studies addressing factors related to nonprescription antibiotic use in the United States. These studies were primarily qualitative and included Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino immigrants. Figure 1 shows the proposed factors that may directly or indirectly predict nonprescription antibiotic use. Key potential factors are individual factors, psychosocial factors, resources, healthcare system factors, and clinical-encounter factors. For example, patients with inadequate health literacy may have poor access to care because of difficulty finding providers and choosing or navigating insurance plans; thus, they may be at risk for nonprescription use. At the same time, patients with inadequate health literacy may be at risk for using nonprescription antibiotics for a viral infection because of difficulty understanding medication labels or package inserts. The relevance of resources (availability) to nonprescription antibiotic use was supported by our research team’s purchase of amoxicillin, tetracycline, and metronidazole without prescriptions from a flea market in Houston, Texas. Conclusions: The Kilbourne conceptual framework provides a strong, comprehensive basis for research and intervention in the challenging problem of nonprescription antibiotic use. Ongoing research will test the proposed relationships between patient, healthcare system, and clinical-encounter factors and nonprescription antibiotic use outcomes. We are conducting a survey among both indigent and insured patient populations to identify the relative importance of these factors and to validate our proposed conceptual framework of nonprescription antibiotic use.Funding: This project was supported by grant number R01HS026901 from the Agency.Disclosures: None

Background Use of antibiotics without a prescription (purchased in the United States (U.S.), purchased in other countries, or obtained from friends and relatives) is potentially unsafe and may increase the global risk of antimicrobial resistance. We evaluated the effect of patient, health system, and clinical encounter factors on intention to use antibiotics without a prescription. Methods Waiting room survey conducted from January 2020 and March 2021 in three continuity and three same-day public primary care clinics and two private emergency departments. Non-prescription use was defined as the consumption of antibiotics not prescribed for the individual’s current condition. Intended use was defined as professed intention to take antibiotics if feeling sick, without contacting a doctor, nurse, or clinic, in any of the following situations: 1) buying antibiotics without a prescription in the U.S., 2) buying antibiotics without a prescription in another country, and 3) getting antibiotics from friends or relatives. The effect of patient, health care system, and clinical encounter factors were studied using multivariate logistic regression. Results Of the 564 respondents, 247 (43.8%) reported prior use of non-prescription antibiotics; half of these instances involved penicillins (mostly amoxicillin). Overall, 177 (31.4%) of the respondents intended to use antibiotics without a prescription from one of the three sources (Figure 1). Younger age, lack of health insurance and high cost of doctor visits were predictors of intention to buy antibiotics without a prescription in the U.S. (Table 1). Predictors of intention to buy antibiotics without a prescription from other countries included younger age, being interviewed in Spanish, and reporting that a language barrier is a major problem for medical appointments. Lack of health insurance and high cost of physician visits were associated with the intention to use antibiotics obtained from relatives or friends. Conclusion Interventions aimed at reducing non-prescription antibiotic use should focus on addressing language barriers, ensuring health insurance coverage, and reducing financial barriers to primary care visits. Disclosures Larissa Grigoryan, MD, PhD, Rebiotix Inc: Grant/Research Support Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, MD, MPH, GlaxoSmithKline: Advisor/Consultant Barbara Trautner, MD, PhD, Genetech: Advisor/Consultant.

Background Use of antibiotics without a prescription (non-prescription use) contributes to antimicrobial resistance. Non-prescription use includes obtaining and taking antibiotics without a prescription, taking another person’s antibiotics, or taking one’s own stored antibiotics. We conducted a quantitative survey focusing on the factors that impact patients’ decisions to use non-prescription antibiotics. Methods We surveyed patients visiting public safety net primary care clinics and private emergency departments in a racially/ethnically diverse urban area. Surveys were read aloud to patients in Spanish and English. Survey domains included patients’ perspectives on which syndromes require antibiotic treatment, their perceptions of health care, and their access to antibiotics without a prescription. Results We interviewed 190 patients, 122 from emergency departments (64%), and 68 from primary care clinics (36%). Overall, 44% reported non-prescription antibiotic use within the past 12 months. Non-prescription use was higher among primary care clinic patients (63%) than the emergency department patients (39%, p = 0.002). The majority felt that antibiotics would be needed for bronchitis (78%) while few felt antibiotics would be needed for diarrhea (30%) (Figure 1). The most common situation identified “in which respondents would consider taking antibiotics without contacting a healthcare provider was “got better by taking this antibiotic before” (Figure 2). Primary care patients were more likely to obtain antibiotics without prescription from another country than emergency department patients (27% vs. 13%, P=0.03). Also, primary care patients were more likely to report obstacles to seeking a doctor’s care, such as the inability to take time off from work or transportation difficulties, but these comparisons were not statistically significant. Figure 1. Patients’ agreement that antibiotics would be needed varied by symptom/syndrome. Figure 2. Situations that lead to non-prescription antibiotic use impacted the two clinical populations differently Conclusion Non-prescription antibiotic use is a widespread problem in the two very different healthcare systems we included in this study, although factors underlying this practice differ by patient population. Better understanding of the factors driving non-prescription antibiotic use is essential to designing patient-focused interventions to decrease this unsafe practice. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Background The use of antibiotics obtained without a prescription (non-prescription use) in the United States (U.S.) may contribute to antimicrobial resistance. We hypothesized that among Hispanic/Latino patients, the intention to use non-prescription antibiotics would be associated with: [1] lower acculturation (preference to socialize with Hispanic/Latinos) and [2] having friends or relatives who use antibiotics without contacting a doctor (social norms). Methods We conducted a survey on the factors that impact Hispanic/Latino patients’ decisions to use non-prescription antibiotics in safety-net primary care clinics and private emergency departments in the greater Houston, Texas area between January 2020 and June 2021. Surveys were read to patients in English or Spanish and queried patient, health system, and clinical encounter factors. Results Of 263 Hispanic/Latino patients, 59% completed the survey in Spanish and 41% in English (Table 1). Overall, 47% reported previous non-prescription antibiotic use, and 36% professed intention to hypothetically obtain and use non-prescription antibiotics, if feeling sick, from one or more of three sources (bought without a prescription in the U. S., from another country, and from friends or relatives). Lack of health insurance, being surveyed in Spanish, having friends or relatives who use antibiotics without consulting a doctor, and high cost of doctor visits were predictors of intent to use antibiotics bought without a prescription in the U.S. (Table 2). Predictors of intent to use non-prescription antibiotics from other countries included lower acculturation scores (preferring to socialize with Hispanics/Latinos), younger age, having friends or relatives who use antibiotics without consulting a doctor, and reported language barriers to medical appointments. Predictors of intent to use antibiotics from friends and relatives included having friends or relatives who use antibiotics without consulting a doctor, and high cost of doctor visits. Conclusion Interventions aimed at reducing non-prescription use in the Hispanic/Latino community should focus on ensuring affordable language concordant healthcare and promoting antibiotic stewardship as a social norm. Disclosures Barbara Trautner, MD, PhD, Genetech: Advisor/Consultant Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, MD, MPH, GlaxoSmithKline: Advisor/Consultant Larissa Grigoryan, MD, PhD, Rebiotix Inc: Grant/Research Support.