Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics and Its Associated Factors among Urban and Rural Communities of Bahir Dar City Administration, Northwest Ethiopia

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 17;10(9):e0138179. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138179. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community plays a role in the emergence and spread of bacteria resistant to antibiotics which threatens human health significantly. The present study was designed to determine inappropriate use of antibiotics and its associated factors among urban and rural communities of Bahir Dar city administration.

Methods: A comparative cross sectional study design was conducted in urban and rural kebeles of Bahir Dar city administration from February 1 to March 28, 2014. A total of 1082 participants included in the study using a systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using pre-tested and structured questionnaire. Data was coded and entered into SPSSS version 16 for statistical analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model were used to identify factors associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Results: Inappropriate use of antibiotics was 30.9% without significant difference between urban (33.1%) and rural (29.2%) communities. From the inappropriate antibiotic use practice, self-medication was 18.0% and the remaining (12.9%) was for family member medication. Respiratory tract symptoms (74.6%), diarrhea (74.4%), and physical injury/wound (64.3%) were the three main reasons that the communities had used antibiotics inappropriately. Factors associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics were low educational status, younger age, unsatisfaction with the health care services, engagement with a job, and low knowledge on the use of antibiotic preparations of human to animals.

Conclusions: Inappropriate use of antibiotic exists in the study area with no significant difference between urban and rural communities. The study indicated an insight on what factors that intervention should be made to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics in the community. Interventions that consider age groups, educational status, common health problems and their jobs together with improvement of health care services should be areas of focus to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diarrhea / drug therapy
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial / drug effects
  • Educational Status
  • Ethiopia
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Inappropriate Prescribing / adverse effects
  • Inappropriate Prescribing / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / drug therapy
  • Rural Population
  • Self Medication / adverse effects
  • Self Medication / statistics & numerical data*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Urban Population
  • Wounds and Injuries / drug therapy

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents

Grants and funding

Bahir Dar University paid perdium for data collectors during data collection. Thus, Bahir Dar University had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.