Factors Which Influence Latino Community Members to Self-Prescribe Antibiotics

Abstract

Interventions to improve antibiotic use that are focused on the formal healthcare system (e.g., clinicians, pharmacists, persons with health insurance) are unlikely to be effective with recently immigrated Latino community members. Successful interventions for this population should include targeted messages to bodega employees, community organizations, and children and their parents.

Parental Health Literacy, Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Upper Respiratory Infections (URI) in an Urban Latino Immigrant Population

“…This may be particularly worrisome in an immigrant Latino population. There is evidence that Latinos are more likely to obtain and take antibiotics without a prescription 16,29 , since many have immigrated from countries where it is common to buy antibiotics over the counter without prescription. Further, a previous study reported that antibiotics were readily available over-the-counter in small, private delis (bodegas) in upper Manhattan where many participants in this study lived, 30 and most Hispanics residing in upper Manhattan are of Dominican descent.…”

“…The KA survey tool has been previously used 15 and was adapted from other instruments used in previous community studies. [16][17][18] The KA survey included 57 close-ended questions assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices about viral URI and influenza. Seven questions asked participants whether medications commonly used in clinical practice were antibiotics or not.…”

Factors Affecting Latino Adults' Use of Antibiotics for Self-Medication

“…It would be unrealistic to believe that patients would disregard previous experience in seeking care and treatment expectations every time they have a respiratory infection. 13,[17][18][19] Consequently, a desire for antibiotics previously used to treat respiratory infections is not a Latino-specific cultural phenomenon. However, the use of a variety of strategies, including acquiring antibiotics without a prescription from tiendas and pharmacies within the United States, does seem to be a cultural artifact of the loosely regulated sale of antibiotics in Latin America.…”

“…19 Currently, there are no published results of interventions to combat this behavior, which has significant implications for the development of antibiotic resistance and public health. 21 Education about any sort of intervention to promote the use of appropriate channels for acquiring antibiotics and to decrease inappropriate self-medication seems necessary, but a strategy of educating individuals about the differences between viruses and bacteria in the etiology of upper respiratory infections would probably not be effective.…”

“…The present results from a community that has seen a relatively recent surge of Latino immigration, primarily from Mexico, are consistent with those from a recent study using focus groups of Latinos in New York City, who were primarily from the Dominican Republic. 19 This suggests that although cultural differences among Latino groups do exist and community structures may vary, this behavior of self-medication with antibiotics may be common to the general Latino community. One difference evident between the primarily Mexican participants in our study and the Dominicans in New York City was the reliance on the importation of antibiotics with Mexicans, whereas the availability of antibiotics without a prescription at bodegas in New York seems to be a more accepted strategy for acquiring treatment.…”