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The general public's perceptions and use of antimicrobials in Trinidad and Tobago
Rev. panam. salud publica ; 12(1): 11-8, July 2002. tab
Artigo em Inglês | MedCarib | ID: med-16992
Biblioteca responsável: TT5
Localização: TT5; W1 RE712AW
ABSTRACT

Objective:

To determine the general public's perception and use of antibiotics in Trinidad and Tobago, a two-island republic in the Caribbean. Methods. This prospective study surveyed 824 randomly selected households listed in the telephone directory, from November 1998 to January 1999. Through telephone interviews we determined knowledge about antibiotics and beliefs concerning their safety and efficacy. We studied the influence of age, gender, education, and having private health insurance on knowledge, self-medication, storing medication at home for emergency use ("hoarding"), and asking a private doctor to prescribe antibiotics ("demand prescribing"). Results. For the 824 telephone calls that the interviewers completed, 753 of the households agreed to participate (91.4 percent response rate). Of those 753 participants, 699 of them (93 percent) knew the term "antibiotic", 29 percent (206/699) said it was a drug for bacterial infections, and 25 percent (170/690) had asked a doctor for an antibiotic prescription. Penicillin was correctly identified as an antibiotic across age, gender, and education categories, but 36 percent of respondents incorrectly said Benadryl (diphenhydramine), a common over-the-counter cough and cold formulation, was an antibiotic. Gender was not significantly associated with knowledge of antibiotic safety, with self-medication, or with hoarding antibiotics. On the other hand, completion of tertiary (university) education was significantly associated with correct knowledge of the safety of antibiotics and whether they could cure all infections. Of the various antimicrobials, beta-lactams were the ones that survey respondents had used most frequently in the preceding year, and 20 percent of antibiotics users had used multiple antibiotics in that period. In comparison to persons with private health insurance, more individuals without private health insurance said that antibiotics are safe and do not have side effects, and more of them also incorrectly called aspirin and Benadryl antibiotics. Conclusions. In Trinidad and Tobago, inappropriate use of antimicrobials results from self-medication, over-the-counter availability at the community pharmacy, prescribing on demand, and lack of regulatory control. In order to contain antibiotic abuse, both the Drug Inspectorate of the Ministry of Health and the Pharmacy Board should exert stricter control on the dispensing of antibiotics at private pharmacies. Further, education of the general public and of health care professionals on antibiotic misuse and appropriate use must be instituted, along with community-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance trends (AU)
Assuntos
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Coleções: Bases de dados internacionais Contexto em Saúde: ODS3 - Meta 3C Aumentar o financiamento da saúde e o recrutamento, desenvolvimento, formação e retenção da força de trabalho da saúde Problema de saúde: Autoridade e Responsabilidade dos Profissionais de Saúde Base de dados: MedCarib Assunto principal: Automedicação / Trinidad e Tobago / Educação em Saúde / Região do Caribe / Educação Profissionalizante / Antibacterianos Tipo de estudo: Estudo observacional / Estudo prognóstico / Fatores de risco Limite: Humanos País/Região como assunto: Caribe Inglês / Trinidad e Tobago Idioma: Inglês Revista: Rev. panam. salud publica Ano de publicação: 2002 Tipo de documento: Artigo
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Coleções: Bases de dados internacionais Contexto em Saúde: ODS3 - Meta 3C Aumentar o financiamento da saúde e o recrutamento, desenvolvimento, formação e retenção da força de trabalho da saúde Problema de saúde: Autoridade e Responsabilidade dos Profissionais de Saúde Base de dados: MedCarib Assunto principal: Automedicação / Trinidad e Tobago / Educação em Saúde / Região do Caribe / Educação Profissionalizante / Antibacterianos Tipo de estudo: Estudo observacional / Estudo prognóstico / Fatores de risco Limite: Humanos País/Região como assunto: Caribe Inglês / Trinidad e Tobago Idioma: Inglês Revista: Rev. panam. salud publica Ano de publicação: 2002 Tipo de documento: Artigo
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