TY - JOUR
T1 - Health literacy, knowledge, household disposal, and misuse practices of antibiotics among UAE residents
T2 - a nationwide cross-sectional study
AU - Kharaba, Zelal
AU - Al-Azzam, Sayer
AU - Altawalbeh, Shoroq M.
AU - Alkwarit, Alin
AU - Salmeh, Noor Abdulkareem
AU - Alfoteih, Yassen
AU - Araydah, Mohammad
AU - Karasneh, Reema
AU - Aldeyab, Mamoon A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2024/3/1
Y1 - 2024/3/1
N2 - Background: The study aimed to evaluate health literacy, knowledge, household disposal, and misuse practices of antibiotics among the United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents. Research design and methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted between May 1st and August 31st, 2022. The study encompassed a sample of 1074 participants. Results: Participants involved in a medical field (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.45–2.69, p < 0.001) were more likely to have adequate health literacy. Most participants rarely (n = 315; 29.33%) or sometimes (n = 292; 27.19%) sought help from a doctor or pharmacist with reading the instructions and leaflets of antibiotics. A bachelor`s degree was associated with a reduced odds ratio of self-medication with antibiotics (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.29–0.75, p = 0.002). Only 10.61% of unneeded antibiotics were returned to the pharmacy, 79.42% were disposed of at home and 10% were disposed of using other disposal practices. Conclusions: Higher levels of adequate health literacy were observed in those involved in the medical field and those with higher educational levels. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among the UAE population was low. These findings highlight the importance of improving health literacy, promoting responsible antibiotic use, and encouraging proper disposal practices among the population.
AB - Background: The study aimed to evaluate health literacy, knowledge, household disposal, and misuse practices of antibiotics among the United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents. Research design and methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted between May 1st and August 31st, 2022. The study encompassed a sample of 1074 participants. Results: Participants involved in a medical field (OR: 1.98, 95% CI: 1.45–2.69, p < 0.001) were more likely to have adequate health literacy. Most participants rarely (n = 315; 29.33%) or sometimes (n = 292; 27.19%) sought help from a doctor or pharmacist with reading the instructions and leaflets of antibiotics. A bachelor`s degree was associated with a reduced odds ratio of self-medication with antibiotics (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.29–0.75, p = 0.002). Only 10.61% of unneeded antibiotics were returned to the pharmacy, 79.42% were disposed of at home and 10% were disposed of using other disposal practices. Conclusions: Higher levels of adequate health literacy were observed in those involved in the medical field and those with higher educational levels. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among the UAE population was low. These findings highlight the importance of improving health literacy, promoting responsible antibiotic use, and encouraging proper disposal practices among the population.
KW - anti-bacterial agents
KW - antibiotic household disposal
KW - antibiotic misuse
KW - antimicrobial resistance
KW - health knowledge
KW - literacy
KW - practice
KW - Self-medication
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85177668708&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/14787210.2023.2284878
DO - 10.1080/14787210.2023.2284878
M3 - Article
C2 - 37978885
AN - SCOPUS:85177668708
VL - 22
SP - 103
EP - 113
JO - Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
JF - Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
SN - 1478-7210
IS - 1-3
ER -
