Antibiotic Practices, Perceptions and Self-Medication Among Patients at a National Referral Hospital in Uganda

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of Participants

Demographics	Frequency (n)	%
Department
Outpatient Department	209	74.9
Inpatient Department	70	25.1
Sex
Female	155	55.6
Male	124	44.4
Age in years; median, range	32	18 to 76
18 to 35	164	58.8
36 to 59	92	33.0
≥60	23	8.2
Religion
Protestant	82	29.4
Roman Catholic	82	29.4
Pentecostal	48	17.2
Muslim	45	16.1
Seventh day Adventist	19	6.8
Atheist/None	3	1.1
Occupation
Unemployed	94	33.7
Self employed	86	30.8
Employee	70	25.1
Student	29	10.4
Level of education
None	15	5.4
Primary	92	33.0
Secondary	103	36.9
Tertiary	69	24.7

Notes: n denotes number of participants, % denotes proportion of participants.

Figure 1 Sources of antibiotics among participants.

Table 2 Antibiotic Misuse Practices and Perceptions

	Question (N=279)	Frequency (n)	%
1	In the last six months, have you taken any antibiotics?
	Yes	212	76.0
	No	67	24.0
2	If yes above, continue with the study (n=212). What was the most frequent reason for taking antibiotics?
	Bacterial infection	128	60.4
	Parasitic infection	36	17.0
	Non communicable disease	27	12.7
	Viral infection	12	5.7
	Fungal infection	9	4.3
3a	Do you take all antibiotics with prescription?
	Yes	165	77.8
	No	47	22.2
3b	If no, did you seek advice from any of the other health care professional?
	Yes	27	57.5
	No	20	42.6
4a	During your last treatment, did you complete the dose?
	Yes	142	67.0
	No	70	33.0
4b	If no, why?
	I got better.	42	60.0
	Lack of money	11	15.7
	Side effects of the medication	7	10.0
	There was no improvement.	5	7.1
	I forgot.	3	4.3
	Shortage of medication	2	2.9
5	An antibiotic will always be effective in the treatment of same infection in future
	Yes	143	67.5
	No	42	19.8
	I do not know.	27	12.7
6	Not finishing the dose has an impact on my health
	Yes	169	79.7
	I do not know.	27	12.7
	No	16	7.6
7	Not finishing the dose has an impact on the health of others
	Yes	96	45.3
	No	69	32.6
	I do not know.	47	22.2

Notes: n denotes number of participants, % denotes proportion of participants.

Table 3 Factors Associated with Antibiotic Misuse Among Patients at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital

Demographics	Antibiotic Misuse		Chi^2 Test	Logistic Regression
	Yes	No	P	cOR	P	aOR (95% CI)	P
Department
Inpatient Department	18 (21.4)	36 (28.1)	0.274	1.00		1.00
Outpatient Department	66 (78.6)	92 (71.9)		1.43 (0.75–2.74)	0.275	1.4 (0.71–2.73)	0.329
Sex
Female	50 (59.5)	73 (57)	0.719	1.00		1.00
Male	34 (40.5)	55 (43)		0.90 (0.52–1.58)	0.719	0.94 (0.52–1.72)	0.843
Age; median, range
18 to 35	42 (50)	72 (56.3)	0.671	1.00		1.00
36 to 59	33 (39.3)	44 (34.4)		1.28 (0.71–2.32)	0.404	1.41 (0.73–2.72)	0.305
≥60	9 (10.7)	12 (9.4)		1.29 (0.50–3.31)	0.602	1.36 (0.48–3.85)	0.563
Religion
Roman Catholic	26 (31)	41 (32)	0.626	1.00		1.00
Protestant	26 (31)	37 (28.9)		1.11 (0.55–2.23)	0.774	1.14 (0.55–2.37)	0.717
Muslim	13 (15.5)	23 (18)		0.89 (0.39–2.06)	0.788	0.91 (0.38–2.15)	0.824
Pentecostal	14 (16.7)	21 (16.4)		1.05 (0.46–2.43)	0.907	0.9 (0.37–2.18)	0.813
Seventh day Adventist	5 (6)	3 (2.3)		2.63 (0.58–11.94)	0.211	2.62 (0.55–12.47)	0.225
Atheist/None	0 (0)	3 (2.3)		NA		NA
Occupation
Unemployed	32 (38.1)	45 (35.2)	0.674	1.00		1.00
Self employed	29 (34.5)	47 (36.7)		0.86 (0.45–1.66)	0.668	0.82 (0.41–1.62)	0.561
Employee	14 (16.7)	27 (21.1)		0.73 (0.33–1.60)	0.433	0.71 (0.3–1.7)	0.444
Student	9 (10.7)	9 (7)		1.41 (0.50–3.94)	0.516	1.44 (0.44–4.74)	0.55
Level of education
None	6 (7.1)	8 (6.3)	0.515	1.00		1.00
Primary	30 (35.7)	46 (35.9)		0.87 (0.27–2.76)	0.812	0.76 (0.22–2.64)	0.664
Secondary	26 (31)	50 (39.1)		0.69 (0.22–2.21)	0.536	0.68 (0.19–2.42)	0.548
Tertiary	22 (26.2)	24 (18.8)		1.22 (0.37–4.08)	0.744	1.12 (0.29–4.23)	0.871

Note: NA, category not included in the logistic regression model due to insufficient number of observations.

Abbreviations: aOR, adjusted odds ratio; cOR, crude odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 4 Factors Associated with Antibiotic Dose Completion Among Patients at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital

Demographics	Dose Completion		Chi^2 Test	Logistic Regression
	Yes (%)	No (%)	P	cOR	P	aOR (95% CI)	P
Department
Inpatient Department	39 (27.5)	15 (21.4)	0.343	1.00		1.00
Outpatient Department	103 (72.5)	55 (78.6)		0.72 (0.37–1.42)	0.344	0.78 (0.38–1.60)	0.492
Sex
Female	77 (54.2)	46 (65.7)	0.111	1.00		1.00
Male	65 (45.8)	24 (34.3)		1.62 (0.89–2.93)	0.112	1.5 (0.78–2.86)	0.223
Age
18 to 35	74 (52.1)	40 (57.1)	0.753	1.00		1.00
36 to 59	54 (38)	23 (32.9)		1.27 (0.68–2.36)	0.452	1.15 (0.56–2.35)	0.697
≥60	14 (9.9)	7 (10)		1.08 (0.40–2.90)	0.877	1.16 (0.38–3.59)	0.792
Religion
Roman Catholic	45 (31.7)	22 (31.4)	0.710	1.00		1.00
Protestant	45 (31.7)	18 (25.7)		1.22 (0.58–2.58)	0.599	1.07 (0.48–2.36)	0.872
Pentecostal	23 (16.2)	12 (17.1)		0.68 (0.30–1.58)	0.374	1.20 (0.47–3.08)	0.708
Muslim	21 (14.8)	15 (21.4)		0.94 (0.39–2.22)	0.883	0.60 (0.25–1.45)	0.257
Seventh day Adventist	5 (3.5)	3 (4.3)		0.81 (0.18–3.72)	0.792	0.74 (0.15–3.76)	0.719
Atheist/None	3 (2.1)	0 (0)		NA		N/A
Occupation
Unemployed	46 (32.4)	31 (44.3)	0.023	1.00		1.00
Employee	31 (21.8)	10 (14.3)		2.09 (0.9–4.87)	0.088	1.94 (0.77–4.89)	0.161
Self employed	57 (40.1)	19 (27.1)		2.02 (1.01–4.03)	0.046	1.83 (0.88–3.81)	0.106
Student	8 (5.6)	10 (14.3)		0.54 (0.19–1.52)	0.242	0.51 (0.15–1.73)	0.279
Level of education
None	7 (4.9)	7 (10)	0.236			1.00
Primary	51 (35.9)	25 (35.7)		2.04 (0.64–6.45)	0.225	2.20 (0.61–7.88)	0.226
Secondary	56 (39.4)	20 (28.6)		2.80 (0.87–8.98)	0.083	3.09 (0.83–11.47)	0.092
Tertiary	28 (19.7)	18 (25.7)		1.56 (0.47–5.18)	0.472	1.86 (0.47–7.33)	0.372

Note: NA, category not included in the logistic regression model due to insufficient number of observations.

Abbreviations: aOR, adjusted odds ratio; cOR, crude odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Table 5 Factors Associated with Self-Medication Among Patients at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital

Demographics	Self-Medication		X2	Logistic Regression
	Yes (%)	No (%)	P	cOR	P	aOR (95% CI)	P
Department
Inpatient Department	14 (29.8)	40 (24.2)	0.441	1.00		1.00
Outpatient Department	33 (70.2)	125 (75.8)		0.75 (0.37–1.55)	0.442	0.96 (0.43–2.16)	0.921
Sex
Female	22 (46.8)	101 (61.2)	0.078	1.00		1.00
Male	25 (53.2)	64 (38.8)		1.79 (0.93–3.45)	0.080	2.13 (1.01–4.5)	0.046
Age; median, range
18 to 35	22 (46.8)	92 (55.8)	0.542	1.00		1.00
36 to 59	20 (42.6)	57 (34.5)		1.47 (0.74–2.92)	0.276	1.36 (0.58–3.17)	0.483
≥60	5 (10.6)	16 (9.7)		1.31 (0.43–3.95)	0.636	0.73 (0.2–2.63)	0.630
Religion
Roman Catholic	9 (19.1)	58 (35.2)	0.079	1.00		1.00
Protestant	15 (31.9)	48 (29.1)		2.01 (0.81–5.01)	0.132	2.39 (0.9–6.35)	0.080
Muslim	13 (27.7)	23 (13.9)		3.64 (1.37–9.68)	0.010	4.37 (1.54–12.44)	0.006
Pentecostal	9 (19.1)	26 (15.8)		2.23 (0.79–6.27)	0.128	2.97 (0.94–9.37)	0.063
Seventh day Adventist	0 (0)	8 (4.8)		NA		NA
Atheist/None	1 (2.1)	2 (1.2)		3.22 (0.26–39.3)	0.359	3.55 (0.18–69.26)	0.403
Occupation
Unemployed	19 (40.4)	58 (35.2)	0.006	1.00		1.00
Self employed	23 (48.9)	53 (32.1)		1.32 (0.65–2.7)	0.439	1.12 (0.5–2.54)	0.781
Employee	1 (2.1)	40 (24.2)		0.08 (0.01–0.59)	0.014	0.06 (0.01–0.51)	0.010
Student	4 (8.5)	14 (8.5)		0.87 (0.26–2.97)	0.827	1.1 (0.25–4.92)	0.896
Level of education
None	5 (10.6)	9 (5.5)	0.148	1.00		1.00
Primary	19 (40.4)	57 (34.5)		0.6 (0.18–2.01)	0.408	0.44 (0.1–1.85)	0.262
Secondary	18 (38.3)	58 (35.2)		0.56 (0.17–1.88)	0.347	0.46 (0.1–2.04)	0.306
Tertiary	5 (10.6)	41 (24.8)		0.22 (0.05–0.92)	0.038	0.14 (0.02–0.81)	0.028

Note: NA, category not included in the logistic regression model due to insufficient number of observations.

Abbreviations: aOR, adjusted odds ratio; cOR, crude odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.