Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of antibiotic use and resistance among patients in South Africa: A cross-sectional study

Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of antibiotic use and resistance among patients in South Africa: A cross-sectional study
 
Creator Farley, Elise van den Bergh, Dena Coetzee, Renier Stewart, Annemie Boyles, Tom
 
Subject — Antimicrobial resistance; Antibiotic resistance; South Africa; Knowledge; Attitudes; Perceptions; Patient
Description Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global health crisis. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to describe South African patients’ (n = 782) ABR knowledge, attitudes and perceptions (KAP), differences in KAP between public (n = 379, 48%) and private (n = 403, 52%) practice respondents and associations between attitudes, perceptions and knowledge scores.Methods: Knowledge scores (15 questions) were placed into low (0% – 53%) and high ( 54%) categories (below and above overall mean). Comparisons were conducted using chi-squared and t-tests.Results: Of all respondents, 72% believed it was the human body that becomes resistant to antibiotics, 66% stated that antibiotics are good for treating viruses and 25% of patients believed that people should be given antibiotics on demand. Mean knowledge scores were lower in public sector respondents (public 45%, s.d. 15%; private 60%, s.d. 30%; p ≤ 0.001). Public practice patients with high knowledge scores were more likely to report both negative KAP (antibiotic prescriptions justify doctors’ visits, scientists will discover new antibiotics) and protective KAP (finishing a course of antibiotics, antibiotics do not treat all illnesses). Private practice patients with high knowledge scores were marginally less likely to report negative KAP (wanting antibiotics after long illnesses or when very sick) and more likely to report protective KAP (antibiotics have side effects and are a strong treatment).Conclusion: Our study shows differences in KAP by practice type and that greater knowledge increases the likelihood of protective attitudes, perceptions and behaviours.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor
Date 2019-08-28
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip application/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajid.v34i1.118
 
Source Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases; Vol 34, No 1 (2019); 9 pages 2313-1810 2312-0053
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/118/144 https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/118/143 https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/118/145 https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/118/142
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2019 Elise Farley, Dena van den Bergh, Renier Coetzee, Annemie Stewart, Tom Boyles https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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