Descriptive Study on Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Antibiotic Use and Misuse in Children with Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Cyprus

Andreas Rouusounides, Vassiliki Papaevangelou, Adamos Hadjipanayis, Sotiria Panagakou, Maria Theodoridou, George Syrogiannopoulos and Christos Hadjichristodoulou
Additional contact information
Andreas Rouusounides: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi street, Larissa 41222, Greece
Vassiliki Papaevangelou: Second Department of Pediatrics, P&A Kyriakou Children’s Hospital, University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
Adamos Hadjipanayis: Department of Pediatrics, Larnaca General Hospital, Larnaca, Cyprus
Sotiria Panagakou: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi street, Larissa 41222, Greece
Maria Theodoridou: First Department of Pediatrics, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
George Syrogiannopoulos: Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, General University Hospital, Larisa 41222, Greece
Christos Hadjichristodoulou: Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi street, Larissa 41222, Greece

IJERPH, 2011, vol. 8, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) are common in children and represent a significant cause of antibiotic abuse which contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance. A survey was conducted in Cyprus in 2006 to assess parents’ and pediatricians’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) concerning the role of antibiotics in children with URTIs. A school-based stratified geographic clustering sampling was used and a pre-tested KAP questionnaire was distributed. A different questionnaire was distributed to paediatricians. Demographic factors associated with antibiotic misuse were identified by backward logistic regression analysis. The parental overall response rate was 69.3%. Parents (N = 1,462) follow pediatricians advice and rarely administer antibiotics acquired over the counter. Although a third expects an antibiotic prescription for URTI symptoms, most deny pressuring their doctors. Low parental education was the most important independent risk factor positively related to antibiotic misuse (OR = 2.88, 95%CI 2.02 to 4.12, p

Keywords: antibiotics; bacterial resistance; KAP study; knowledge; attitudes; practices; antibiotic overuse; antibiotic misuse; questionnaire; parents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/8/3246/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/8/8/3246/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:8:y:2011:i:8:p:3246-3262:d:13419

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().