Evidence of factors influencing self-medication with antibiotics in LMICs: a systematic scoping review protocol
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BACKGROUND: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the need for strengthening the capacity of all developing countries in the early warning, risk reduction and management of national as well as global health risks. Despite there being a considerable amount of effort in controlling and promoting the rational use of antibiotics, studies show that the practice of self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) systematically exposes individuals to the risk of antibiotic resistance and other antibiotic side effects. The proposed scoping review aims to map literature on the factors influencing self-medication with antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The adopted search strategy for this scoping review study will involve electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Science Direct, EBSCOhost (PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE), Google Scholar, BioMed Central and World Health Organization library. A two-stage mapping strategy will be conducted. Stage 1 will screen studies through examining their titles and screening abstracts descriptively by focus and method as stipulated by the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In stage 2, the researchers will extract data from the included studies. A parallel screening and data extraction will be undertaken by two reviewers. In accessing the quality of the included studies, the researchers will utilize the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT, version 11). The NVivo computer software (version 11) shall be used to classify, sort, arrange and examine relationships in the data, and to extract the relevant outcomes and for the thematic analysis of the studies. DISCUSSION: The study anticipates finding relevant studies reporting evidence on the factors influencing self-medication with antibiotics in LMICs. The evidence obtained from the included studies will help guide future research. The study findings will be disseminated electronically and in print with presentations being done at relevant platforms, i.e. conferences related to antibiotic use, antimicrobial resistance, health seeking behaviour and the use of medicines. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Prospero Registration Number: CRD42017072954.
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A systematic review and meta-analysis by Torres et al. in 2018 identified factors influencing self-medication with antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries, including ease of access, affordability, and lack of regulation.
“The findings of our study are further supported by a systematic review and meta-analysis by Torres et al. in 2018, which identified factors influencing SMAs in low- and middle-income countries, including ease of access, affordability, and lack of regulation [13].”
From Understanding Antimicrobial Self-Medication Practices in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India (2025) · cites this paper as [13]
The Abstract (Background) describes a proposed scoping review, not a completed systematic review and meta-analysis. The Discussion says the researchers anticipate finding relevant literature and that the results will provide evidence on influencing factors; it does not report factors identified by a completed review. Although the Discussion names access and affordability as topics of interest, it does not present them as review findings. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Torres, N. F., Chibi, B., Middleton, L. E., Solomon, V. P., & Mashamba-Thompson, T.
- Affiliations
- Instituto Superior de Ciencias de Saude (MZ)
- University of KwaZulu-Natal (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Torres, Neusa Fernanda
- ORCID
- Venue
- Systematic Reviews
- Published
- 2018-07-21
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 102-102
- ISSN
- 2046-4053 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6054840
- OpenAlex
- W2884339242
- Cited by
- 17
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 1.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Systematic Reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmacology › Pharmacy and Medical Practices
- Keywords
- antibiotic self-medication, antibiotic resistance, low- and middle-income countries, health-seeking behavior, rational antibiotic use, antimicrobial resistance, determinants of self-medication, antibiotic adverse effects
- MeSH terms
- Scoping Reviews as Topic, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Delivery of Health Care, Developing Countries, Humans, Pharmacists, Poverty, Self Care, Global Health, Drug Resistance, Bacterial, Inappropriate Prescribing
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