<p>Assessment of Public Awareness, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Antibiotic Resistance in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study</p>

Abstract

Background Antibiotic resistance is increasing to dangerously high levels globally with subsequent higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays and increased levels of mortality. Ensuring patients’ knowledge, attitude, and proper use of antimicrobials is one of the strategies to control resistance. The aim of this study is to evaluate the public awareness, attitude, and practice regarding antimicrobial use and resistance in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia. Methods A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 385 adults selected using systematic random sampling in Kemissie town from March 1 to May 1, 2019. A home-to-home visit interview was done using a structured interview guide. The data were coded individually and entered into a computer using Epi-info version 3.5.1 and then exported to SPSS version 23.0 for analysis. Univariate analyses were used to describe the categorical variables. Results Of the 345 respondents who took antibiotics, three quarters (74.78%) received antibiotics with a prescription. Of the total respondents, 17.7% of the participants believed unnecessary use of antibiotics enhances resistance to bacteria. Of those who took antibiotics, the majority (72.5 %) finished the full course of treatment. Out of the total 374 respondents, 41.6% had awareness on the fact that antibiotics resistance can affect the development of resistance in the whole community. More than half (51.9%) of the respondents believed that the rational use of antibiotics can reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance. Conclusion The majority of the respondents were still unaware of antibiotic resistance and its implications. This requires close attention from policy-makers and healthcare professionals. The community of Kemissie town had a positive attitude towards finishing antibiotic regimens. This study also identified crucial gaps in the practices of the community about the use of antibiotics.

Utilization of Routine Health Information from Health Management Information System and Associated Factors Among Health Workers at Health Centers in Oromia Special Zone, Ethiopia: A Multilevel Analysis

“…Its capital city is Kemisse which is located at 325 kilometer north of Addis Ababa. 22 According to the 2018 Zonal health department data, the total population was 57,677. There is one general hospital, one primary hospital, twenty-seven health centers, and one hundred five health posts in the zone.…”

Evidence of Antibiotic Resistance from Population-Based Studies: A Narrative Review

“…41 These data were in line with another cross-sectional study 42 based on a survey submitted to Kuwaiti subjects during the period from January to March 2014, in which 27.5% of the study population have been taking antibiotics without medical consultation and with a recent community-based cross-sectional study conducted in Kemissie town (Ethiopia), in which one-quarter of the respondents did not obtain antibiotics with a prescription. 43 Also a cross-sectional Italian analysis performed in 2011 44 reported that around one-third of the respondents to the survey had taken an antibiotic without the prescription of a physician. A recent scoping review highlighted the self-medication of antibiotics to be highly prevalent among individuals living in low- and middle-income countries.…”

Antibiotics Self-Medication Practice and Associated Factors Among Residents in Dessie City, Northeast Ethiopia: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…The data collection tool was a semi-structured, pretested questionnaire to collect the required data adapted from the previous study. 24 , 25 The questionnaire had three parts. Part one included socio-demographic characteristics such as sex, age, residence, religion, marital status, educational status, occupation, and average monthly income.…”

“…5 This result was higher than the study conducted in Gondar Town (36.8%), in Ambo (47.9%), in Eritrea (45.1%), in Malaysia (15.1%), Sri Lanka (2.6%) and others conducted elsewhere. 15,16,19,24,26,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] The result is also lower than the study conducted in Addis Ababa (67.3%) and Harer (65%). 18,39 The difference might be the methods used, socio-demographic factors, study setting and the healthcare policy of the country.…”