Conocimiento de la automedicación con antibióticos en adultos

Abstract

Introduction: In the quest to achieve wellness, people have resorted to self-care practices that can be harmful, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines selfmedication as the freedom of individuals to consume over-the-counter medications without a prescription, for self-identified symptoms. Objective: to determine the knowledge of self-medication with antibiotics in adults. Methods: this study is quantitative and descriptive in scope. The sample consisted of 136 adults over 20 years of age who met the inclusion criteria. The questionnaire "Level of knowledge about self-medication with antibiotics in adults" was used for data collection, with validity and a Cronbach's alpha of 0.616 considered acceptable. Results: 54.4% were female, 34.6% were housewives, 35.3% had secondary education, and 40.4% were between 31 and 50 years of age. The 64.0% of participants have self-medicated with antibiotics during the last year and the level of knowledge found is low with 44.1%. Conclusion: the level of knowledge about self-medication with antibiotics is low. The main cause is lack of information and lack of knowledge added to the fact that they are easily accessible and are used to treat symptoms that do not require their use. It is important to focus on education and create regulatory policies for access and dispensing of these drugs to reduce their unnecessary use.