Perceptions and attitudes about antibiotic resistance in the general public and general practitioners in France

Abstract

Background During the last 20 years, France has taken important steps to tackle antibiotic resistance. These include national awareness campaigns for the general public, and supporting changes in terms of antibiotic prescription for healthcare practitioners. To prepare the upcoming 2022/2023 campaign, we conducted two surveys to assess (1) the general public’s knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding antibiotics and (2) the perceptions and practices of general practitioners (GPs). Methods Two quantitative telephone surveys were conducted using the same methodology as that used in 2010 by the National Health Insurance Authority. The first was conducted in 2019 in a national representative quota sample of 1204 persons aged over 15 years living in metropolitan France, including an over-sample of 332 parents of children aged six years or under. The second was conducted in 2020 in a national representative sample of 388 GPs. Results Twenty-seven percent of respondents reported taking antibiotics during the previous year. Sixty-five percent of GPs declared prescribing fewer antibiotics during the previous five years. However, 33% of GPs reported they often had patients who put high pressure to get antibiotics. The pressure from elderly patients, especially those with comorbidities was notable. Three percent of respondent patients reported putting often pressure on their GP. All respondents expressed total trust in their GP irrespective of whether s/he had prescribed them antibiotics. Half knew that antibiotics act only on bacteria, and 38% said they understood precisely what antibiotic resistance is. Conclusion Although antibiotic use is decreasing in France, patient pressure on GPs to prescribe antibiotics is very high. GPs are key ambassadors in reducing antibiotic use. Awareness campaigns must target elderly patients in particular.

Antibiotics Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours among the Population Living in Cyprus

“…A 2021 study in Turkey revealed that 37% of parents with a child under 18 years old believed that antibiotics could cure infections caused by viruses [24]. In France, only about half of the participants in the general public knew that antibiotics only target bacteria, regardless of whether they were parents with a child ≤6 years old or not [25]. A similar finding was observed among Italian parents, among which 33% declared that antibiotics were useful for treating viral infections [26].…”

Knowledge, Perceptions, and Perspectives of Medical Students Regarding the Use of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance: A Qualitative Research in Galicia, Spain

“…Although the students are aware of the severity and consequences of the increase in antibiotic resistance, they view it as a medium-to-long-term problem. They are uncertain about the extent to which it currently affects their healthcare environment, a belief shared by medical professionals across different fields [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Similar findings were reported in a systematic review, which revealed that students acknowledge antibiotic resistance as a global public health concern but do not express concern about its impact in their immediate workplace or learning environment, such as their teaching hospital [ 15 ].…”

Knowledge and Attitudes of Patients About the Rational Use of Antibiotics

“…A study conducted in England found that 38% of the public asked physicians to prescribe antibiotics ( 13 ). In a study conducted in France, 39% of physicians stated that their patients frequently asked them to prescribe antibiotics ( 18 ). In our study, this rate was 28%.…”

“…In studies conducted in Türkiye, the rate of awareness of the rational use of antibiotics was reported to be 8.2%, and the rate of having heard about antibiotic resistance was 32.5% (4,8). Studies indicated that 38% to 69% of the public was aware of antibiotic resistance (14,(16)(17)(18). In a study by Lim et al, the rate of participants who believed that antibiotic resistance would cause treatment failure in severe infections was 7% (14).…”