Michaelidou Mikaela, Karageorgos Spyridon A, Tsioutis Constantinos
School of Medicine, European University Cyprus, 2404 Nicosia, Cyprus.
Department of Pediatrics, Limassol General Hospital, 4153 Kato Polemidia, Cyprus.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Oct 30;9(11):759. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110759.
We aimed to assess the knowledge and understanding of antibiotic use and resistance in the general population of Cyprus, in order to inform future antibiotic awareness campaigns with local evidence. Cross-sectional survey following the methodology of the "Antibiotic resistance: Multi-country public awareness survey" of the World Health Organization, during December 2019-January 2020. A total of 614 respondents participated: 64.3% were female and most were aged 35-44 years (33.2%) or 25-34 years (31.8%). One-third had used antibiotics >1 year ago and 91.6% reported receiving advice on appropriate use from a medical professional. Despite high awareness on correct use of antibiotics, lack of knowledge was noted for specific indications, where approximately one-third believed that viral infections respond to antibiotics and 70.7% lack understanding of how antibiotic resistance develops. Higher education graduates exhibited significantly higher knowledge rates. As high as 72.3% were informed about "antibiotic resistant bacteria" from healthcare professionals or social media. Most agreed on the usefulness of most suggested actions to address antibiotic resistance, with higher proportions acknowledging the role of prescribers. Up to 47% could not identify their role in decreasing antibiotic resistance. Our study provides local evidence to inform future efforts in a country characterized by high antibiotic consumption rates.
我们旨在评估塞浦路斯普通民众对抗生素使用和耐药性的知识与理解，以便用当地证据为未来的抗生素宣传活动提供参考。于2019年12月至2020年1月期间，按照世界卫生组织“抗生素耐药性：多国公众意识调查”的方法进行横断面调查。共有614名受访者参与：64.3%为女性，大多数年龄在35 - 44岁（33.2%）或25 - 34岁（31.8%）。三分之一的人在一年多以前使用过抗生素，91.6%的人报告曾接受过医疗专业人员关于正确使用抗生素的建议。尽管对抗生素的正确使用有较高的认知度，但在特定适应症方面仍存在知识欠缺，约三分之一的人认为病毒感染对抗生素有反应，70.7%的人不了解抗生素耐药性是如何产生的。高等教育毕业生的知识知晓率显著更高。高达72.3%的人从医疗保健专业人员或社交媒体那里了解到“抗生素耐药菌”。大多数人认同大多数建议的应对抗生素耐药性行动的有用性，有更高比例的人认可开处方者的作用。高达47%的人无法明确自己在降低抗生素耐药性方面的作用。我们的研究提供了当地证据，可为这个抗生素消费率高的国家未来的相关工作提供参考。
