Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Apr 27;6(2):32.
doi: 10.3390/diseases6020032.

Self-Medication with Antibiotics, Attitude and Knowledge of Antibiotic Resistance among Community Residents and Undergraduate Students in Northwest Nigeria

Olumide Ajibola  1 , Olusola Akintoye Omisakin  2 , Anthonius Anayochukwu Eze  3 , Semeeh Akinwale Omoleke  4
Affiliations

Self-Medication with Antibiotics, Attitude and Knowledge of Antibiotic Resistance among Community Residents and Undergraduate Students in Northwest Nigeria

Olumide Ajibola et al. Diseases. .

Abstract

This study set out to evaluate self-medicated antibiotics and knowledge of antibiotic resistance among undergraduate students and community members in northern Nigeria. Antibiotic consumption pattern, source of prescription, illnesses commonly treated, attitude towards antibiotics, and knowledge of antibiotic resistance were explored using a structured questionnaire. Responses were analyzed and summarized using descriptive statistics. Of the 1230 respondents from undergraduate students and community members, prescription of antibiotics by a physician was 33% and 57%, respectively, amongst undergraduate students and community members. We tested the respondents’ knowledge of antibiotic resistance (ABR) and found that undergraduate students displayed less knowledge that self-medication could lead to ABR (32.6% and 42.2% respectively). Self-medication with antibiotics is highly prevalent in Northwest Nigeria, with most medicines being purchased from un-licensed stores without prescription from a physician. We also observed a significant gap in respondents’ knowledge of ABR. There is an urgent need for public health authorities in Nigeria to enforce existing laws on antibiotics sales and enlighten the people on the dangers of ABR.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance; community; self-medication; undergraduates.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Commonly used antibiotics.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of commonly treated infections among community members and undergraduate students.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sources of choice of antibiotics.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Reasons for self-medication with antibiotics.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organization . Antimicrobial Resistance. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2017.
    1. Ventola C.L. The Antibiotic Resistance Crisis. Pharm. Ther. 2015;40:277–283. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . Antibiotic Resistance: Multi-Country Public Awareness Survey. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2015.
    1. Ayukekbong J.A., Ntemgwa M., Atabe A.N. The threat of antimicrobial resistance in developing countries: Causes and control strategies. Antimicrob. Resist. Infect. Control. 2017;6:47. doi: 10.1186/s13756-017-0208-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization . The Role of the Pharmacist in Self-Care and Self-Medication. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 1998.

LinkOut - more resources