Abstract
BackgroundDevelopment of drug resistance caused by self-medication with antibiotics, can be seen as one of the growing global threats. Self-medication is defined as the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms. The purpose of this study is to assess the practice of self-medication with antibiotics and associated factors among the community of Asmara, Eritrea.MethodsThis was a community based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 16 selected sub-districts of Asmara from September to November 2017. A Two-stage cluster sampling was employed to select study sites and participants. Data was collected in a face to face interview with a structured questionnaire and entered to CSPro version 6.2. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation and logistic regression were executed using SPSS version 22.ResultsA total of 580 study participants were recruited with a response rate of 99.5% (N = 577). The prevalence of Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) in this study was found to be 45.1% [95% CI (40.5, 49.6)] and majority of them practiced once or twice in a period of 12 months. The main reasons for SMA were previous successful experience (34.4%) and the illness being ‘not serious enough to seek medical care’ (25.7%). Of those who self-medicated, 84.1% of used amoxicillin at least once. Wound infection (17.9%) and sore throat (13.9%) were the most self-recognized complaints that required self-medication. Antibiotics were supplied and recommended mostly by the community drug outlets. Only Sex (p = 0.046), knowledge (p = 0.019) and attitude (p < 0.001) of the participants were found significantly associated with the practice of SMA in the multivariate logistic regression.ConclusionsThough majority of the respondents considered self-medication with antibiotics as inappropriate practice, about half of them were practicing it anyway. Therefore immediate attention from relevant bodies is required.
Highlights
Development of drug resistance caused by self-medication with antibiotics, can be seen as one of the growing global threats
Selected residents of Asmara aged 18 years and above who were willing to participate in the study and without any hearing, speech or mental disability were included in the study population
The study participants were dominated by females (58.8%) and the median age was37 years (IQR = 24) (Table 1)
Summary
Development of drug resistance caused by self-medication with antibiotics, can be seen as one of the growing global threats. Self-medication is defined as the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms. Self-medication with antimicrobial is frequently noted as one of the major factors contributing to drug resistance [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-medication as “the selection and use of medicines by individuals to treat self-recognized illnesses or symptoms” [2]. ; lack of knowledge is a major factor responsible for Ateshim et al BMC Public Health (2019) 19:726 inappropriate antimicrobial use and resistance globally [6]. Antibiotic resistance may result in prolonged illnesses, more health facility visits, extended hospital stays, the need for more expensive medications, and even death [7]. If the current trend continues, 10 Million deaths are attributable to AMR worldwide by 2050 [8]
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