Knowledge,Attitude And Practices Towards Antibiotics Usage-a Cross Sectional Survey Among The General Public In Luquan County,Yunnan Province

Objectives:To evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practice of the general public towards antibiotics usage, to analyze the factors that affect the knowledge level, to explore the differences between the general public and animal farming farmers, and to analyze the correlation among knowledge, attitudes and practices.Methods:A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey involving 435 respondents was undertaken in a Yi and Miao anonymous county, Yunnan, from August 2014 to April 2015.Results:Only 35.4%of the respondents have heard of the term "antibiotics", almost 60%of them confused antibiotics with anti-inflammatory drugs. Around 80%of the respondents incorrectly think antibiotics can kill virus and only less than 40%of them correctly identify that antibiotics can be used to treat bacterial infections. About 66% of the respondents were aware of antibiotic resistance associated with abuse. Nearly 90% of the respondents would stop an antibiotic course when their symptoms are improved or disappeared. More than 80%of the respondents didn’t know antibiotics should be purchased with a doctor’s prescription according to laws. However, about 85%of them had a history of treating themselves with self-prescribed antibiotics for minor ailments. And approximately two-thirds of the respondents (57.9%) would take antibiotics when they caught a cold. A significance difference was found between the general public and animal fanning farmers towards antibiotics knowledge, the general public have more antibiotic knowledge than animal farmers, however, there is no difference in the use of antibiotics between the two groups.Conclusions:The General public’s knowledge towards antibiotics is poor in Luquan County that include knowledge on the identification, function, using and associated regulations of antibiotics. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics, a main reason of antibiotics abuse, is quite high. Educational level and occupation are the two factors that determinate the antibiotic knowledge level of the respondents. There is a disconnection between the antibiotic knowledge level and using behavior. Educational intervention should be made to improve the general public’s knowledge towards antibiotics usage and the enforcement of policies and laws on antibiotics should be strictly strengthened.