Health literacy, knowledge, household disposal, and misuse practices of antibiotics among UAE residents: a nationwide cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

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 1^st and August 31^st, 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.

KEYWORDS:

• Self-medication
• anti-bacterial agents
• antimicrobial resistance
• literacy
• health knowledge
• practice
• antibiotic misuse
• antibiotic household disposal

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Ethics statement

Al-Ain University Research Ethics Committee (REC) approved the study and granted the necessary ethical permissions (REC_B3_ 05/22).

Data availability statement

Data available on reasonable request and in line with permission approval processes from the Al-Ain University Research Ethics Committee.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.