Antibiotic identification, use, and self-medication for respiratory illnesses among urban Latinos.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which antibiotic and nonantibiotic medications commonly used for upper respiratory infections (URIs) were correctly identified by a sample of urban dwelling Latinas and the association of medication identification with antibiotic use and self-medication.


METHODS
One hundred women completed an interview and were asked to identify whether a list of 39 medications (17 antibiotics, 22 nonantibiotics) were antibiotics or not, whether anyone in the household had used the medication, their ages, and the source of the medication.


RESULTS
Overall, participants correctly identified 62% of nonantibiotics and 34% of antibiotics. Seventy three (73%) women in the study reported antibiotic use by at least one member of the household in the past year. Among users, self-medication was reported in 67.2% of antibiotics for adults, but in only 2.4% of children. There was no difference in antibiotic recognition between those who self-medicated and those who did not, but antibiotic self-medication was associated with a significantly lower recognition of nonantibiotics (p= .01).


CONCLUSIONS
Measures to improve antibiotic utilization should address self-medication and consider the cultural and social context in which antibiotic use occurs.
Landers
Timothy F
TF
Center for Interdisciplinary Research to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance (CIRAR), Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, New York, USA. landers.37@osu.edu
Ferng
Yu-Hui
YH
McLoughlin
Jennifer Wong
JW
Barrett
Angela E
AE
Larson
Elaine
E
D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012651:Self Medication; D014505:Urban Population
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents