Misconceptions and Misuses of the Public about Antibiotics in a Saudi Community

Objective: To explore misconceptions and misuses about antibiotics among the general public in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: A study questionnaire was used for data collection. It comprised 3 parts. The first included demographic characteristics of respondents; the second consisted of 18 statements to evaluate knowledge about antibiotics, while the third was concerned with source (s) and reason (s) for taking antibiotics within the last month. Following a consecutive sampling method, a total of 1178 participants could be included into this study. Results: Knowledge of participants regarding antibiotics was generally poor. The least correctly known items were: Antibiotics are used for relief of pain and inflammation (24.4%) and antibiotics should not be used in case of viral infections (28.3%). Mean knowledge score of female participants regarding antibiotics was significantly better than that of males (p=0.001). Older participants had higher mean knowledge scores than younger ones (p 0.001). Married participants had the highest knowledge scores (p=0.003). Higher educated participants had higher mean knowledge scores than less educated ones (p 0.001). More than half of participants used antibiotics within the last month, most of them were without the prescription of a physician. The main stated reasons for taking antibiotics were sore throat (34%), fever (32.8%) or local pain (23%). Conclusions: Knowledge of the public in the Saudi community regarding antibiotics is generally low. Several misconceptions and misuses are present, e.g., antibiotics can eliminate viruses. Antibiotics are very frequently received by the public, most of which are administered without physicians prescription. Sore throat is the main reason for antibiotics prescription followed by fever and local pain.