Evaluation of Knowledge and Attitudes of Rational Antibiotic Usage of Patients Applying to the University Hospital

Abstract

As health professionals and pharmaceutical companies have various responsibilities in rational antibiotic use (RAU), individuals also have great responsibilities. As a matter of fact, although it seems like an individual responsibility for the patient to comply with the principles of rational antibiotic use, it is actually an issue that concerns the general society in terms of its consequences. This research was carried out to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes of individuals about RAU. The research is carried out in Konya Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Medical Faculty Hospital between June and October 2021 in 461 patients aged 18-65 years. The data was obtained using the survey method. It was observed that, 52.5% of the participants were male, 62.7% were in the 18-40 age group, 58.1% were high school graduates or more, 64.6% had a large family and the income of 57% was equal to their expenses. 66.4% of the individuals stated that they do not have knowledge about RAU. The mean knowledge and attitude scores of the participants about RAU were determined as 13.11±2.36 and 44.82±3.19, respectively. The difference between educational status and income status variables and mean knowledge score, and between education status and family type variables and attitude score averages were found to be significant (p<0,05). There was no increase in the knowledge and attitude scores of the individuals who had previously received information about the rational use of antibiotics. We found a weak positive correlation (r=0,154) between knowledge and attitude scores of rational antibiotic use. It was found that a small number of the participants had previously received information about RAU, but there was no increase in the knowledge and attitude scores of these individuals. In line with these results, it was concluded that policies on RAU be disseminated to include the society and that these programs should be accessible especially for individuals with low education and income levels.