Assessments of Students' Numeracy Knowledge Levels in Health Literacy and Their Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior Regarding Antibiotic Use

Year 2023, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 572 - 590, 29.10.2023

Aslı Aykaç , Banu Tuncay , Ahmet Özer Şehirli

https://doi.org/10.19127/mbsjohs.1276058

Abstract

Objectives: Rational antibiotic use (RAU), which is examined under the heading of rational drug use, draws an important road map in the prevention of antibiotic resistance development, which is a global problem that threatens future generations. It was aimed to evaluate the factors that determine the antibiotic use behaviors of students and the level of numeracy knowledge in health literacy, which is effective in reducing unnecessary or incorrect antibiotic use.
Methods: In the study, in which 212 students voluntarily participated, a questionnaire consisting of questions was used, in which socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to antibiotic use were examined, as well as the level of numerical knowledge in health literacy.
Results: It was found that the average age of participants was 20.33±2.50, and 53.8% were females. It was determined that 77.4% of the participants preferred to go to the doctor when they had any health problems, and the most common reason for using antibiotics was fever (51.4%). The answer given for the "disease that requires antibiotic use" question was bacterial infections with 64.6%. Participants' numeracy level in health literacy was questioned with six different questions, and their average score was determined to 8.1±2.0. It was determined that the highest numeracy knowledge level score among the departments belonged to the students of the anesthesia and first and emergency departments. Moreover, it was found that the numeracy knowledge level score in health literacy for females was higher than that of males.
Conclusion: It has been determined that students studying in health sciences have sufficient knowledge about RAU and numeracy, but they do not have an excellent level of knowledge yet despite being health students. It is believed that the regulation of the " rational antibiotic use" course, which is included in the education curriculum, will be effective in solving this problem.

Keywords

Rational Antibiotic Use, University Student, Antibiotic Resistance, Numeracy in Health Literacy

Supporting Institution

-

Project Number

-

Thanks

-

References

• https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/about.html
• Cantas L, Suer K. Review: the important bacterial zoonoses in "one health" concept. Front Public Health. 2014;14;2:144. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2014.00144.
• Llor C, Bjerrum L. Antimicrobial resistance: risk associated with antibiotic overuse and initiatives to reduce the problem. Ther Adv Drug Saf. 2014;5:229-241. doi: 10.1177/2042098614554919.
• de Kraker ME, Stewardson AJ, Harbarth S. Will 10 Million People Die a Year due to Antimicrobial Resistance by 2050? PLoS Med. 2016;29:13:e1002184. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002184.
• Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022;399:629-655. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0.
• Aslam B, Wang W, Arshad MI, Khurshid M, Muzammil S, Rasool MH, et al. Antibiotic resistance: a rundown of a global crisis. Infect Drug Resist. 2018;11:1645-1658. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S173867.
• Reynolds D, Burnham JP, Vazquez GC, McCabe M, Yuenger V, Betthauser K, et al. The threat of multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative respiratory infections: another pandemic. Eur Respir Rev. 2022;31:220068. doi: 10.1183/16000617.0068-2022
• Torres NF, Chibi B, Kuupiel D, Solomon VP, Mashamba-Thompson TP, Middleton LE. The use of non-prescribed antibiotics; prevalence estimates in low-and-middle-income countries. A systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Public Health. 2021;79:2. doi: 10.1186/s13690-020-00517-9.
• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance
• Olesen SW, Barnett ML, MacFadden DR, Brownstein JS, Hernández-Díaz S, Lipsitch M, et al. The distribution of antibiotic use and its association with antibiotic resistance. Elife. 2018;7:e39435. doi: 10.7554/eLife.39435.
• Cutler RL, Fernandez-Llimos F, Frommer M, Benrimoj C, Garcia-Cardenas V. Economic impact of medication non-adherence by disease groups: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2018;8:e016982. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016982
• Machowska A, Stålsby Lundborg C. Drivers of Irrational Use of Antibiotics in Europe. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;16:27. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16010027
• Jimmy B, Jose J. Patient medication adherence: measures in daily practice. Oman Med J. 2011;26:155-159. doi: 10.5001/omj.2011.38. 14. Bekker CL, Aslani P, Chen TF. The use of medication adherence guidelines in medication taking behaviour research. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2022;18:2325-2330. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2021.08.006.
• Yin X, Mu K, Yang H, Wang J, Chen Z, Jiang N, et al. Prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics and its related factors among Chinese residents: a cross-sectional study. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2021;10:89. doi: 10.1186/s13756-021-00954-3.
• Ruh E, Gazi U, Güvenir M, Süer K, Çakır N. Antibiotic resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from a university-affiliated hospital in North Cyprus. Turk Hij Den Biyol Derg. 2016;73:333-344.
• Memon I, Alrashid AA, Alshammari HS, Rehman DE, Feroz Z, Nagro A, et al. Assessing the Effects of Basic Medical Science Courses on the Knowledge and Attitude towards Antibiotic Usage among Pre-Professional Students in Saudi Arabia. Pharmacy (Basel). 2021;9:108. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy9020108.
• Sawalha OF. A descriptive study of self-medication practices among Palestinian medical and nonmedical university students. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2008;4:164–172. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2007.04.004
• Suaifan GA, Shehadeh M, Darwish DA. A cross-sectional study on Knowledge, attitude and behavior related to antibiotic use and resistance among medical and non-medical university students in Jordan. Afr J Pharm Pharmacol. 2012;6:763–770. http://doi.org/10.5897/AJPP12.080
• Huang Y, Gu J, Zhang M. Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotics: A questionnaire study among 2500 Chinese students. BMC Med Educ. 2013;13:163. http://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-13-163
• Ganesh M, Sridevi SA. Antibiotic use among medical and para medical students: knowledge, attitude and practice in a tertiary health care center in Chennai—A scientific insight. IJSR 2014;3:2277–8179. http://doi.org/10.36106/IJSR
• Süer K, Çalı S, Aykaç A. Implementations Related to the Use of Antibiotics and Data Sources Used by Community Pharmacists in the Northern Cyprus. Cyprus J Med Sci. 2019;4:28-33. http://doi.org/10.5152/cjms.2019.697
• Berkman ND, Sheridan SL, Donahue KE, Halpern DJ, Crotty K. Low health literacy and health outcomes: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:97–107. http://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005
• Hasan S, Gamal M, Samorinha C, Hassan NA. Antibiotic use numeracy: Developing the infectious numeracy test (INT). Res Social Adm Pharm. 2022;18:3580-3587. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2022.03.007.
• Connell L, Finn Y, Dunne R, Sixsmith J. Health literacy education programmes developed for qualified health professionals: a scoping review protocol. HRB Open Res. 2022;4:97. doi: 10.12688/hrbopenres.13386.2.
• Gupta MK, Vohra C, Raghav P. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about antibiotic resistance among medical students in India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2019;8:2864-2869. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_504_19
• Büke Ç, Limoncu MH, Ermertcan Ş, Ciceklioglu M, Tuncel M, Köse Tet al. Irrational use of antibiotics among university students. J Infect. 2005;51:135-139, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2004.12.001
• European Commission. Special Eurobarometer 445: Antimicrobial Resistance; European Commission: Brussels, Belgium, 2016.
• Karakurt P, Hacihasanoglu R, Yildirim A, Saglam R. Medication use among university Students. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletin. 2010;9:505–512.
• Yilmaz Kara D, Altun N, Kiliç M. Determination of Rational Drug Use Behaviors of Adult Individuals - A Cross-Sectional Study from Turkey. Curr Health Sci J. 2016;42:12-18. doi: 10.12865/CHSJ.42.01.02
• Özcebe H, Üner S, Karadag O, Daryani A, Gershuni O, Czabanowska K, et al. Perspectives of physicians and pharmacists on rational use of antibiotics in Turkey and among Turkish migrants in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands: a qualitative study. BMC Prim Care. 2022;23:29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01636-8
• Tiong TW, Chua SS. Knowledge and Attitude of University Students on Antibiotics: A Cross-sectional Study in Malaysia. Drug Healthc Patient Saf. 2020;12:135-144. doi: 10.2147/DHPS.S253301
• Güngör A, Çakır BÇ, Yalçın H, Çakır HT, Karauzun A. Evaluation of Parents’ Attitudes and Behaviors Related to the Use of Antibiotics in Children. Turk J Pediatr. 2018;13:203-207. https://doi.org/10.12956/tjpd.2018.363
• Zeru T, Berihu H, Buruh G, Gebrehiwot H, Zeru M. Parental knowledge and practice on antibiotic use for upper respiratory tract infections in children, in Aksum town health institutions, Northern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study. Pan Afr Med J. 2020;35:142. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2020.35.142.17848.
• Mete S, Ünal Z. Kapadokya bölgesi il merkezlerinde yaşayanların ilaç kullanım alışkanlıklarının belirlenmesi. Nevşehir J Sci Technol. 2017;6:661-680. http://dx.doi.org/10.17100/nevbiltek.344344 36. Kaya H, Turan N, Keskin Ö, Tencere Z, Uzun E, Demir G, et al. Üniversite öğrencilerinin akılcı ilaç kullanma davranışları. J Anatolia Nurs Health Sci. 2015;18:35-42. https://doi.org/10.17049/ahsbd.67643
• Güngör A, Çakır BÇ, Yalçın H, Çakır HT, Karauzun A. Evaluation of Parents’ Attitudes and Behaviors Related to the Use of Antibiotics in Children. Turk J Pediatr. 2018;13:203-207. https://doi.org/10.12956/tjpd.2018.363
• Sorensen L, Stokes JA, Purdie DM, Woodward M, Roberts MS. Medication management at home: Medication-related risk factors associated with poor health outcomes. Age Ageing. 2005;34:626-632. http://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afi202
• Çelik S, Alcadağ M, Erduran Y, Erduran F, Berberyakar N. The investigation of antibiotic use situations health school student’s. J Human Sci. 2010;7:1.
• Alumran A, Hou XY, Hurst C. Assessing the overuse of antibiotics in children in Saudi Arabia: validation of the parental perception on antibiotics scale (PAPA scale). Health Qual Life Outcome. 2013;11:39. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-11-39
• Yin HS, Mendelsohn AL, Wolf MS, Parker RM, Fierman A, van Schaick L, et al. Parents’ medication administration errors: role of dosing instruments and health literacy. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2010;164:181–186. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.269
• Ciampa PJ, Vaz LM, Blevins M, Sidat M, Rothman RL, Vermund SH, et al. The association among literacy, numeracy, HIV knowledge and health-seeking behavior: a population-based survey of women in rural Mozambique. PLoS One. 2012;7:e39391. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039391.