Yasmine Tarek Ahmed, Asma’a Bosroor, Maryam Bosroor, Fatima Aldilali, Fatimah Alhammad, Maria Alsinan, Afnan Alkhaleefah

ABSTRACT

Aim To evaluate Saudi patients’ attitude toward antibiotics use and their awareness of the risk of antibiotics self-prescription and measure the prevalence of antibiotics self-prescription in the eastern region of KSA. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on general Saudi public residing in the eastern region of KSA. A closed ended questionnaire was utilized in order to gather information from the people who are aged 20 or more and have used antibiotic. Online survey links were sent out to a convenient sample of Saudi population using emails and social media. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Results A total of 584 adult participants completed the online survey, which comprised of 16% (n=89) males and 84% (n=489) females. The majority of the participants reported they use antibiotic after the doctor’s prescription. It was found that majority of male and female use antibiotic as a painkiller. All the participants with various education levels used antibiotic as painkiller. Conclusion Older age group antibiotic users tend to have better knowledge and attitude towards the use of antibiotics. Males showed better attitude towards antibiotic use as compared to the females.