title: Patterns of antibiotic use among adults and parents in the community: a questionnaire-based survey in a Greek urban population.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to look for factors that affect attitudes to antibiotic use in Greek urban settings. By using a questionnaire-based survey, we conducted 323 face-to-face interviews (173 adults, 150 carers of children). In the adult group, 74.6% admitted using non-prescribed antibiotics, while only 22.7% of parents had administered non-prescribed antibiotics to their children. Around 50% of adults discontinued therapy earlier, more than 10% did not follow the correct dosage instructions and about 55% admitted using leftover antibiotics. Of the parents, 18.7% discontinued therapy earlier and 7.3% admitted keeping leftover antibiotics. Our results showed that adults were likely to show unsatisfactory compliance and to use non-prescribed antibiotics, while parents were less likely to use non-prescribed antibiotics for their children and were more compliant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of University of Patras, Heroon Polytekniou 60a, 26500 Rion, Greece. yiolamitsi@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mitsi
authors.forename: Eleni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jelastopulu
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Basiaris
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skoutelis
authors.forename: Charalambos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gogos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents