Alrafiaah Abdulaziz S, Alqarny Meaad H, Alkubedan Haneen Y, AlQueflie Sulaiman, Omair Aamir
College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
J Infect Public Health. 2017 Sep-Oct;10(5):579-585. doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2017.01.023. Epub 2017 Mar 7.
Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is considered to be the most common reason for children's visits to emergency departments or outpatient clinics. The misuse and overuse of antibiotics are currently major public health problems worldwide. This study aimed to assess Saudi parents' knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) regarding the use of antibiotics in URTIs in children. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia using a previously validated questionnaire, which was distributed using Twitter. A total of 385 individuals completed the questionnaire. For the majority of the participants (77%), physicians were the primary source of information regarding the use of antibiotics. Forty-four percent of parents agreed that most URTIs are caused by viruses, and 81% were aware that inappropriate use of antibiotics leads to the development of antibiotic resistance. Fever was the primary symptom (27%) that led parents to ask for prescriptions for antibiotics. Although women had a higher attitude score (p=0.01), there was no difference between genders regarding knowledge and practice. Older participants (41 years or more) had a lower attitude score (p=0.02). Furthermore, participants with five children or more had lower attitude and practice scores (p=0.006, 0.04, respectively). Participants who lived in large cities had greater knowledge compared to the inhabitants of small cities (p=0.01). In conclusion, the findings of this study demonstrated that most of the participants were educated but lacked knowledge regarding antibiotic use in URTIs in children. This lack of knowledge led to inappropriate attitude and practice. Thus, launching public educational campaigns and encouraging physicians to educate parents regarding the proper use of antibiotics are recommended.
上呼吸道感染（URTI）被认为是儿童前往急诊科或门诊就诊的最常见原因。抗生素的滥用和过度使用是当前全球主要的公共卫生问题。本研究旨在评估沙特父母对儿童上呼吸道感染使用抗生素的知识、态度和行为（KAP）。这项横断面研究在沙特阿拉伯进行，使用了一份先前经过验证的问卷，通过推特进行分发。共有385人完成了问卷。对于大多数参与者（77%）来说，医生是关于抗生素使用信息的主要来源。44%的父母同意大多数上呼吸道感染是由病毒引起的，81%的人意识到不适当使用抗生素会导致抗生素耐药性的产生。发烧是导致父母要求开具抗生素处方的主要症状（27%）。尽管女性的态度得分较高（p = 0.01），但在知识和行为方面两性之间没有差异。年龄较大的参与者（41岁及以上）态度得分较低（p = 0.02）。此外，有五个或更多孩子的参与者态度和行为得分较低（分别为p = 0.006和0.04）。与小城市居民相比，居住在大城市的参与者知识更丰富（p = 0.01）。总之，本研究结果表明，大多数参与者受过教育，但缺乏关于儿童上呼吸道感染使用抗生素的知识。这种知识的缺乏导致了不适当的态度和行为。因此，建议开展公众教育活动，并鼓励医生教育父母正确使用抗生素。
