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IRRATIONAL USE OF ANTIBIOTICS AMONG STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES AT TAIBAH UNIVERSITY AND ITS BRANCHES

Moneer Mohammed, Sulaiman Al-rddadi, Abdulrhman Al-harbi, Jehad Al-bakri, Mohammed Fallatah, Fisal Abdulaziz, Magdy M. Emara, Majdah Alghefari, Sawsan Sayed, Elham Muhanna, Saja Alsharif

Background: Poor knowledge and attitude towards antibiotics use and resistance are some of the major challenges that need to be addressed around the world. So, this study was performed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of Taibah University students and employees about antibiotics usage, and to study the most effective practicing solutions to improve the antibiotics usage. Methods: this is a prospective cross-sectional study that was conducted among Taibah University students and employees. The study included 632 randomly chosen participants. Data was obtained by a well-structured self-administrated questionnaire and analyzed. Results: 64.2% of responders used antibiotics without a prescription. 66% reported that ease of access was the major reason behind self-medication attitude. Only 20.2 % faced rejection from the pharmacist to sell antibiotics without a prescription. 8.2% of participants who use antibiotics without prescription, are using regularly antibiotics until consuming the entire course.40% of participants who use antibiotics without a prescription, take the therapeutic dose based on previous experience. 58.1% knew that antibiotics treat bacterial diseases. 63.3% knew that bacteria can resist the antibiotic.45% of the participants agree that the antibiotics are used to treat and prevent symptoms together. Conclusions: There was unfavorable attitude towards the antibiotics use, and insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about the antibiotics use and resistance, among Taibah University students and employees. Keywords: Antibiotics, Prescription, Taibah, University, Resistance.

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