Assessment of Public Awareness, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Antibiotic Resistance in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia: Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Respondents in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia, May 2019 (N=374)

Variables	Category	Frequency (%)
Sex	Male	123 (33%)
	Female	251 (67%)
Age category	18–26	113 (30.1%)
	27–35	86 (23.1%)
	36–40	49 (13%)
	>40	124 (33.2%)
Religion	Muslim	14 (83.9%)
	Orthodox	50 (13.5)
	Protestant	10 (2.6%)
Education status	Illiterate	115 (31%)
	Elementary	99 (26.5%)
	High school	82 (21.8%)
	Higher education	78 (20.9%)
Monthly income	150–300 birr	49 (13.0)
	300–500 birr	57 (15.3%)
	500–1,000 birr	109 (29.1%)
	>1,000 birr	159 (42.6%)

Table 2 Common Source of Antibiotics (n=345) in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia, May 2019

I usually obtain antibiotics from hospital/healthcare facility with prescription	258 (74.8%)
Retail outlet pharmacy	14 (4%)
By sharing with others	7 (1.8%)

Table 3 The Respondent’s Attitude and Practice Towards the Use of Antibiotics in Kemissie Town, Northeast Ethiopia, May 2019 (N=374)

Variables	Yes (%)
I take the antibiotic as advised by the health professional	342 (99.13%)
I finish the antibiotic as advised by the health professional	248 (72.52%)
I consider the time gap advised between doses during antibiotics use	297 (86.42%)
I stop taking antibiotics If I feel better after a few days	71 (75.53%)
I stop the drug due to time deviation from the normal schedule	21 (22.34%)
I have stopped an antibiotic due to negligence, being fed up, and bored	34 (36.17%)
Take without prescription	122 (35.67%)
I have suffered from different microbial infection during my lifetime	359 (96.10%)
I have never suffered from microbial infection	15 (3.90%)
I took antibiotics to treat that specific microbial infection	345 (96.20%)
Attitude about how to reduce antibiotic resistance (n=374)
Rational use of antibiotics	200 (28.4%)
Using antibiotics according to advice and information are given	188 (26.2%)
Not sharing antibiotics with others	136 (19.3%)
Using antibiotics with prescription	149 (21.2%)

Table 4 Awareness About Microbial Resistance in Kemissie Town, Norteast Ethiopia, May 2019 (N=374)

Variables	Yes (%)
I heard/encountered the term “Antibiotic resistance” before Source of information (N=222)*	222 (59.36%)
Healthcare professional	144 (64.8%)
Mass media	81 (36.5%)
Friends	67 (30.2)
I know what the term “Antibiotic resistance” means	171 (77.03%)
I have been informed about “How often” and “How much” to take the antibiotic verbally and/or with any written material?	129 (19.3%)
I think that the development of Antibiotic resistance has a problem	178 (47.59%)
Unnecessary use of antibiotics can increase the resistance of bacteria to them	118 (17.7%)
Resistance to antibiotics is a worldwide problem	154 (41.6%)
What do you think are risk factors of antibiotic resistance (N=174)
Over or underuse of antibiotic	118 (17.7%)
Failure to complete the course of therapy	158 (23.7%)
Sharing antibiotics with others	118 (17.7%)
Taking antibiotics without prescription	122 (18.3%)
Taking antibiotic without considering the dose and time gap	129 (19.3%)
Others	22 (3.3%)
What do you think are the consequences of the antibiotic resistance (N=374)
Decrease antibiotic activity	153 (23.4%)
Need for expensive drug	131 (20%)
Not cured from the diseases	287 (28.6%)
Increases intensity and duration of the diseases	148 (22.6%)

Note: *Multiple responses were possible so that the percentage may exceed 100%.