Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.

<h4>Background</h4>Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) has been reported among university students in many countries, but little research has been done on this issue in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge and behaviors of university students and risk factors c...

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Autores principales:	Hui Pan, Binglin Cui, Dangui Zhang, Jeremy Farrar, Frieda Law, William Ba-Thein
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b0c628f6c21e4a13b4fa51f0c5e2c37a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b0c628f6c21e4a13b4fa51f0c5e2c37a2021-11-18T07:11:40ZPrior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0041314https://doaj.org/article/b0c628f6c21e4a13b4fa51f0c5e2c37a2012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22911779/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) has been reported among university students in many countries, but little research has been done on this issue in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge and behaviors of university students and risk factors concerning SMA.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using a novel questionnaire-based data collection instrument, an anonymous online survey was conducted with the students of Shantou University (STU), a university comprising 8 schools/colleges in eastern Guangdong, China. Of 1,300 respondents (13.8% of total eligible participants), 47.8% had self-treated with antibiotics. Logistic regression analysis identified prior knowledge of antibiotics (PKA), older age, and higher monthly allowance as independent risk factors for SMA. PKA significantly influenced students' knowledge about antibiotics, their uses, and common adverse reactions (all p<0.05). Among self-medicated students, 61.7% used antibiotics at least twice in the previous year. Community pharmacies were the major source of self-prescribed antibiotics. Reported common indications for SMA were sore throat (59.7%), fever (38.2%), cough (37.4%), runny nose (29.3%), and nasal congestion (28.7%). While 74.1% of self-medication episodes were based on students' own experiences, only 31.1% of students claimed to understand the package insert. Alteration of antibiotics and dosage during the course of self-treatment was made by 63.8% and 55.6% of students, respectively. At least two kinds of antibiotics were simultaneously taken by 82.6% of students. The majority of self-medicated students failed to complete the course of antibiotics. Adverse reactions were reported by 16.3% of students. Amoxicillin was the most common antibiotic used for self-medication.<h4>Conclusions</h4>High prevalence of SMA was noted among STU students. Presence of risk factors and risk-associated behaviors/attitudes in the study population calls for focused educational intervention and stricter governmental legislation and regulation of antibiotic use and sale in pharmacies.Hui PanBinglin CuiDangui ZhangJeremy FarrarFrieda LawWilliam Ba-TheinPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 7, p e41314 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Hui Pan Binglin Cui Dangui Zhang Jeremy Farrar Frieda Law William Ba-Thein Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
description	<h4>Background</h4>Self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) has been reported among university students in many countries, but little research has been done on this issue in China. The objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge and behaviors of university students and risk factors concerning SMA.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using a novel questionnaire-based data collection instrument, an anonymous online survey was conducted with the students of Shantou University (STU), a university comprising 8 schools/colleges in eastern Guangdong, China. Of 1,300 respondents (13.8% of total eligible participants), 47.8% had self-treated with antibiotics. Logistic regression analysis identified prior knowledge of antibiotics (PKA), older age, and higher monthly allowance as independent risk factors for SMA. PKA significantly influenced students' knowledge about antibiotics, their uses, and common adverse reactions (all p<0.05). Among self-medicated students, 61.7% used antibiotics at least twice in the previous year. Community pharmacies were the major source of self-prescribed antibiotics. Reported common indications for SMA were sore throat (59.7%), fever (38.2%), cough (37.4%), runny nose (29.3%), and nasal congestion (28.7%). While 74.1% of self-medication episodes were based on students' own experiences, only 31.1% of students claimed to understand the package insert. Alteration of antibiotics and dosage during the course of self-treatment was made by 63.8% and 55.6% of students, respectively. At least two kinds of antibiotics were simultaneously taken by 82.6% of students. The majority of self-medicated students failed to complete the course of antibiotics. Adverse reactions were reported by 16.3% of students. Amoxicillin was the most common antibiotic used for self-medication.<h4>Conclusions</h4>High prevalence of SMA was noted among STU students. Presence of risk factors and risk-associated behaviors/attitudes in the study population calls for focused educational intervention and stricter governmental legislation and regulation of antibiotic use and sale in pharmacies.
format	article
author	Hui Pan Binglin Cui Dangui Zhang Jeremy Farrar Frieda Law William Ba-Thein
author_facet	Hui Pan Binglin Cui Dangui Zhang Jeremy Farrar Frieda Law William Ba-Thein
author_sort	Hui Pan
title	Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
title_short	Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
title_full	Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
title_fullStr	Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
title_full_unstemmed	Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.
title_sort	prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern china.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/b0c628f6c21e4a13b4fa51f0c5e2c37a
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Prior knowledge, older age, and higher allowance are risk factors for self-medication with antibiotics among university students in southern China.

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