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ISSN: 1734-3402
Family Medicine & Primary Care Review
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1/2024
vol. 26
 
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abstract:
Original paper

Parents’ behaviour toward antibiotic self-medication in children and incidence of resistance: a cross-sectional study from Punjab, Pakistan

Furqan K. Hashmi
1
,
Muhammad Muneeb
1
,
Sanaullah Umair
1
,
Bisma Mushtaq
2
,
Hamid Saeed
1
,
Muhammad Islam
1
,
Faiz Abid
1
,
Yumna Abrar
,
Bisma Shahzadi
1
,
Ayaz Ali Khan
3
,
Qadeer Ahsan
4
,
Muhammad Fawad Rasool
5
,
Usman Rashid Malik
6
,
Saad Ahmed
7
,
Hassaan Anwer Rathore
8
,
Zikria Saleem
5

1.
University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore, Pakistan
2.
Indus Hospital, Mission Colony, Raiwind City, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
3.
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakist
4.
Fleming Fund, Islamabad, Pakistan
5.
Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan
6.
School of Pharmacy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
7.
Railway Islamic International Medical College Trust and Pakistan Railways Hospital, Riphah International University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
8.
College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Family Medicine & Primary Care Review 2024; 26(1): 39–50
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/fmpcr.2024.134701
Online publish date: 2024/03/15
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Background
Antibiotic resistance is mostly brought about through antibiotic self-medication, which is a common issue in impoverished countries. The most at-risk group is children, while there is no protection evidence released for them. Due to a lack of proper knowledge, parents often inappropriately administer antibiotics to their children.

Objectives
The current study aims to evaluate the parents’ knowledge of antibiotic use and their knowledge of the medical conditions for which self-medication is used.

Material and methods
A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in parents. Parents’ direct interviews and self-administered questionnaires were used to gather the data. Descriptive analysis and chi-square tests were performed to determine the significance of these findings using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.

Results
There were 1,034 individuals who self-medicated their children in total. Male participants outnumbered female participants by a small margin. In the past 12 months, 88.6% of parents gave antibiotics to their children. Pharmacy advice and past prescriptions were the main causes of this behaviour, whilst cough, fever and tooth discomfort were the conditions for which antibiotics were prescribed. Throughout the course, 45.5% of patients changed antibiotics on their own.

Conclusions
The findings of this study underscore the urgent need to address the issue of self-medication of antibiotics in children, emphasising the potential harm it can cause. Parents often resort to self-medication without a proper understanding of the underlying causes of their children’s illnesses, relying on antibiotics as a panacea. To mitigate this practice and protect the well-being of children, it is imperative to implement a multifaceted approach involving regulatory measures and educational initiatives beyond the scope of pharmacist interventions.

keywords:

child, anti-bacterial agents, self medication, parents, behavior

  
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