Parental Knowledge and Awareness Linked to Antibiotic Use and Resistance: Comparison of Urban and Rural Population in Croatia

Abstract

Purpose:

To investigate the differences in parental knowledge, attitudes, and practice about antibiotic use and resistance among the urban and rural populations in Croatia.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study based on a structured questionnaire was distributed to 1,000 parents of children attending 11 elementary schools of Primorsko-Goranska County in 2017.

Results:

The overall response rate was 65.1% (651/1,000)—50.6% (253/500) in urban and 79.6% (398/500) in rural population. Urban parents had a higher overall knowledge about antibiotics (p < 0.001), while urban and rural parents held mostly similar knowledge and attitudes related to antibiotic use when split into individual statements (p > 0.05). Age, education, income, work, and family member working in a health-related field were significantly related with the overall knowledge about antibiotics. In the previous year, 28.2% of children and 28.9% of parents reported using an antibiotic. Croatian parents had a high level of trust in doctors' antibiotic-prescribing practices (96.3% reported trusting the doctors' decision not to prescribe antibiotics, 93.5% to prescribe antibiotics) and high awareness of antimicrobial resistance (94.8%). The public's misconception regarding the terms “bacteria” and “virus” was found in 15.5% of parents. The source of information about antimicrobial resistance was television (60.4%), internet (57.1%), newspapers (44.2%), and medical professionals (30.9%).

Conclusions:

Although the knowledge about antibiotics was higher in urban parents, it was not reflected on the level of antibiotic consumption. There are indications that medical professionals should be more involved in communicating the problems of antibiotic use and resistance to patients.