TY - JOUR
AU - Mustafa, Zia Ul
AU - Iqbal, Shahid
AU - Asif, Hafiz Rahil
AU - Salman, Muhammad
AU - Jabbar, Sehar
AU - Mallhi, Tauqeer Hussain
AU - Khan, Yusra Habib
AU - Sono, Tiyani Milta
AU - Schellack, Natalie
AU - Meyer, Johanna C.
AU - Godman, Brian
PY - 2023
DA - February
TI - Knowledge, attitude and practices of self-medication including antibiotics among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan; findings and implications
JO - Antibiotics
VL - 12
IS - 3
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12030481 
AB - Since the emergence of COVID-19, several different medicines including antimicrobials have been administered to patients to treat COVID-19. This is despite limited evidence of the effectiveness of many of these, fueled by misinformation. These utilization patterns have resulted in concerns with patients’ safety and a rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Health care workers (HCWs) were required to serve in high-risk areas throughout the pandemic. Consequently, they may be inclined towards self-medication. However, they have a responsibility to ensure any medicines recommended or prescribed for the management of patients with COVID-19 are evidence based. This though is not always the case. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in six districts of the Punjab to assess their knowledge, attitude and practices of self-medication during the ongoing pandemic. This included HCWs working a a range of public sector hospitals in Punjab Province. A total of 1173 HCWs were included in the final analysis. The majority of HCWs possessed good knowledge regarding self-medication and good attitudes. However, 60% were practicing self-medication amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The most frequent medicines consumed by the HCWs under self-medication were antipyretics (100%), antibiotics (80.4%) and vitamins (59.9%). Azithromycin was the most commonly purchase antibiotic (35.1%). In conclusion, HCWs possess good knowledge of, and attitude, regarding medicines they pur-chased. However, there are concerns that high rates of purchasing antibiotics, especially ‘Watch’ antibiotics, for self-medication may enhance AMR. This needs addressing.
PB - MDPI
UR - https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/84435/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER