Active educational intervention as a tool to improve safe and appropriate use of antibiotics

• Main Authors: Mayadah B. Shehadeh (Author), Ghadeer A.R.Y. Suaifan (Author), Eman A. Hammad (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2016-09-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1319-0164; 10.1016/j.jsps.2015.03.025
• Keywords: Educational intervention; Knowledge of antibiotics; Antibiotics resistance; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, Vol 24, Iss 5, Pp 611-615 (2016)

Misconception about antibiotics use among the public has been widely outlined to be a main reason for inappropriate use of antibiotics including failure to complete treatment, skipping of doses, re-use of leftover medicines and overuse of antibiotics. The study was devised to evaluate whether education might be a potential strategy to promote safer use of antibiotics and reducing self-medication. Two hundred seventy one adults were asked to complete two questionnaires; a pre and posteducation. The questionnaires comprised of three parts consisting of 17 statements assessing the knowledge on: appropriate use, safe use and resistance of antibiotics. Knowledge score was estimated by calculating the percentage of correct responses. The mean (SD) knowledge score pre-education was 59.4% (20.3). However, posteducation the score was 65.9% (17.9), p < 0.001(t-test). Knowledge scores were classified as poor, adequate and good. Posteducation, participants within poor and adequate knowledge categories were significantly shifted to the good category describing better knowledge, McNemar-χ2 = 28.7, df = 3, p < 0.001. It is concluded that using tailored education material targeting antibiotic need and use with a major aim of improving the public knowledge about antibiotics can be an effective and feasible strategy. This pilot study could be considered as the starting point for a wider scale public educational intervention study and national antibiotic campaign. However, the improvement in participant's knowledge might not reflect an actual change in antibiotics-seeking behaviour or future retention of knowledge. Future research should seek to assess the impact of education on participant's behaviour.