Use of antibiotics among non-medical students in a Nigerian university

Antibiotic misuse is a major contributory factor to treatment failure, antibiotic resistance and high healthcare costs. To evaluate level of self-reported antibiotic misuse among non-medical undergraduate students of a Nigerian university. Respondents' knowledge of antibiotics and disposal syst...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	African health sciences Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 1149 - 1155
Main Authors:	Sanya, T E, Titilayo, O F, Adisa, R, Segun, J S
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Uganda Makerere Medical School 2013
Subjects:	Adult Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use Antibiotics College students Drug abuse Female Health and Medicine Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Male Nigeria Original Perception Prescription Drug Misuse Students - statistics & numerical data Surveys and Questionnaires Universities Nigeria Nigeria University Students Antibiotic misuse
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Summary:	Antibiotic misuse is a major contributory factor to treatment failure, antibiotic resistance and high healthcare costs. To evaluate level of self-reported antibiotic misuse among non-medical undergraduate students of a Nigerian university. Respondents' knowledge of antibiotics and disposal system for left-over antibiotics were explored using a structured questionnaire. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics. Chi square was used to evaluate relationship between specific categorical variables and respondents' opinions with p<0.05. More than half the respondents obtained their antibiotics through doctor's prescriptions (273; 68.3%). The study revealed gross antibiotic misuse with majority, (298;74.5%) either by keeping left-over antibiotics for future use or throwing it away with refuse. Respondents (289; 72.3%) sometimes forgot to take the antibiotics. Financial constraints (73; 18.3%), long duration of treatment (70; 17.5%), side effects experienced (60;15.0%), polypharmacy (56;14.0%), tablet size (45;11.3%), and perceived low level of confidence in the prescriber (11; 2.8%) were major reasons for non-adherence. Course of study of respondents had no significant effect on respondents' knowledge or adherence (p>0.05). Misuse of antibiotics among non-medical undergraduate students in a Nigerian university setting is pervasive suggesting an urgent need for enlightenment on rational use and disposal of antibiotics.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	1680-6905 1729-0503 1680-6905
DOI:	10.4314/ahs.v13i4.41