Abstract

BackgroundUnderstanding community perspectives on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a key component in designing educational interventions to combat ABR at the community level in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to explore community residents’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotics and ABR in Jelutong District, Penang, Malaysia. Moreover, it intended to identify areas of focus to be addressed when designing an educational intervention to increase residents’ knowledge and change their attitudes and perceptions.MethodsA qualitative approach was adopted to gain a deeper understanding of community residents’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotics and ABR. A purposive sampling was employed. Twenty-two residents (aged ≥18 years) were interviewed with the aid of a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed.ResultsThe majority of the participants asserted that antibiotics could be effective against viral infections. Moreover, many participants were unaware that antibiotics have adverse effects. Some acquired antibiotics from a community pharmacy without a prescription, took antibiotics given to them by their family or friends, or took leftover antibiotics prescribed for a previous illness. A few indicated that they would request antibiotics from their physician when they had viral infections. More than half of the participants discontinued taking antibiotics when their symptoms improved. The majority stated that ABR occurs when the body becomes used to antibiotics. Most participants were unaware of the causes, consequences and prevention of ABR. In fact, they were not concerned about it. As a result, only a few perceived themselves as having responsibility for preventing this problem.ConclusionsThe community residents had misconceptions about antibiotics and ABR, negative attitudes towards antibiotics and negative perceptions of ABR. The areas of focus that need to be addressed when designing an educational intervention to increase the general public knowledge and change their attitudes and perceptions are the appropriate use of antibiotics and their adverse effects; the importance of adhering to antibiotic therapy; and the definition, causes, consequences and prevention of ABR.

Highlights

  • Understanding community perspectives on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a key component in designing educational interventions to combat ABR at the community level in Malaysia

  • The majority stated that ABR occurs when the body becomes used to antibiotics: ‘Antibiotic resistance is a condition where the body becomes used to antibiotics.’ (P6)

  • This aligns with the findings of other Malaysian studies, whereby the majority of the public surveyed in the States of Selangor (68%) [56] and Penang (67%) [57] stated that antibiotics are effective against viral infections

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Summary

Introduction

Understanding community perspectives on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a key component in designing educational interventions to combat ABR at the community level in Malaysia. This study aimed to explore community residents’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding antibiotics and ABR in Jelutong District, Penang, Malaysia It intended to identify areas of focus to be addressed when designing an educational intervention to increase residents’ knowledge and change their attitudes and perceptions. Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics and suboptimum adherence to antibiotic therapy is a frequent occurrence in LMICs, and in high-income countries [11,12,13,14]. Such practices could be due to lack of public awareness regarding ABR and inadequate implementation of regulations on antibiotic prescribing and dispensing [15]

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