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Cited by 125Antibiotic Use and ResistancePharmacy and Medical PracticesAntibiotic Resistance in Bacteria

Knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to antibiotic use among community members of the Rupandehi District in Nepal

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Nepal, Anant, Hendrie, Delia, Robinson, Suzanne, Selvey, Linda A.·2019·BMC Public Health
DOI 10.1186/s12889-019-7924-5PMC PMC6880381
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Abstract

Background: The development of antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global public health. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is recognised as a leading cause of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards antibiotic use among adults in Nepal. Methods: A quantitative survey was conducted with 220 community members of the Rupandehi district of Nepal, with cluster sampling techniques applied to select households. Interviews were carried out face-to-face using a structured questionnaire. Responses were presented using descriptive analysis, with chi-squared tests and regression analysis applied to identify factors associated with KAP about antibiotic use and the Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient calculated to examine the relationship between responses to the KAP questions. Results: The sample comprised more females (54%) than males, the average age of respondents was 38.5 years and almost 60% of respondents lived in rural areas. Respondents had relatively good knowledge about aspects of antibiotic use other than identifying antibiotics. The concept of antibiotic resistance was well known but imperfectly understood. Half of respondents (50.9%) were unsure whether skipping doses would contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance, 88.2% indicated they would go to another doctor if not prescribed an antibiotic when they thought one was needed and nearly half (47.7%) believed antibiotics helped them get better more quickly if they had a fever. Most respondents reported correct practices accessing and using antibiotics, however, 84.6% at least sometimes preferred an antibiotic when they have a cough and sore throat. Logistic regression showed respondents with higher levels of education tended to have better knowledge, more appropriate attitudes and better practices about antibiotic use. Rural respondents were less likely to have better knowledge about antibiotic use, while females were more likely to report better practices. Conclusion: The study provides baseline evidence about the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding antibiotic use among the population of the Rupandehl district. Its findings will be useful in designing effective and targeted interventions to decrease misconceptions about antibiotic use and to increase awareness about the risks of inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community.

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  • Antibiotics are used both for treatment and prophylaxis in LMICs.

    “In most LMICs, antibiotics can be purchased at drug stores without a prescription 20 and are used both for treatment and prophylaxis 21,22 .”

    From Urban informal settlements as hotspots of antimicrobial resistance and the need to curb environmental transmission. (2020) · cites this paper as [22]

    The Results section reports antibiotic use for symptoms such as cough or sore throat and says 31.8% of respondents reported using antibiotics as prophylaxis. This supports both types of use among respondents in Nepal, but the study does not establish that the pattern holds across most LMICs. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Nepal, A., Hendrie, D., Robinson, S., & Selvey, L. A.
Affiliations
  • Curtin University (AU)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
Corresponding author
Nepal, Anant
ORCID
Venue
BMC Public Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2019-11-26
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
1558-1558
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12889-019-7924-5
PMC
PMC6880381
OpenAlex
W2991270539
Cited by
125
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 9
FWCI
8.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Curtin University of Technology
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
Keywords
antibiotic use, knowledge, attitudes and practices, antibiotic resistance, inappropriate antibiotic use, community health, Rupandehi district, educational attainment, urban-rural differences, gender differences, self-medication
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Nepal, Surveys and Questionnaires, Rural Population, Urban Population, Young Adult

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