Bir Hastanenin Aile Hekimliği Polikliniklerine Başvuran Erişkinlerin Antibiyotik Kullanımı Konusundaki Bazı Alışkanlıkları, Görüşleri ve Bilgilerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Objectives: Erronous, unnecessary, ineffective and high cost drug use is a serious problem across the world. This research was setup and implemented to determine the attitudes, opinions and knowledge about rational antibiotics use of patients and their relatives. Materials and Method: This research was conducted as a descriptive study within the  policlinics of the Family Medicine Department at Ankara Ataturk Training and Research Hospital. Data were collected from patients and their relatives at family medicine polyclinics between 16th and 31st of December 2013, during face-to-face interviews that included a questionnaire of 27 questions.SPSS 15.0 software package was used for statistical analysis with the outcomes presented in the form of one- and two-dimensional tables. Chi-square test was used to assess the inherent relationships, p-value below 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant for the case. Results: 257 people participated in the study.  61.5% of the participants were female (n=158) and the remaining 38.5% were male (n=99).  The median age of women is found to be 43 (quartile range interval=18.25, the smallest-the largest=18-82) and the median age of men is found to be 40 (quartile range interval=25, the smallest-the largest=18-68). 28.4% of the participants stated that they have taken 1 antibiotic each within the last month whereas 3.1% of the participants said they have taken 2. 26% have taken antibiotics without being prescribed one within the last month. 41% of the participants stated that they have not been informed about the appropriate use of antibiotics. 91.4% of the participants said that they have never heard the concept of “Rational use of antibiotics” and only 8.2% said they have. When the later were asked about the source of their information, they pointed at; 1) the television 2) the internet 3) the doctors and the vocational trainings given. Comparing the educational levels of the participants; university/college graduates seem to be more informed about the “Rational use of antibiotics” concept compared to less educated with the difference found to be statistically significant (P-0.008). Conclusion: The use of antibiotics without the consent of the responsible physician is a serious problem. The underlying causes of this might be doctor-related as well as patient-related. The vigilance of the first point-of-contact family physicians about the subject is very critical. Besides training programs for healthcare workers about the “Rational use of antibiotics”, providing informational activities targeting the general public would be beneficial in the fight against unnecessary and erroneous antibiotics use.