Knowledge and Behavior about Adherence to Antibiotics and Its Use among the Rural Population in Rawalpindi: Implications for Rise In AMR

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health issue, expected to become a major concern by 2050. The purpose of this study is to gain insight into antibiotic use knowledge and adherence behaviors among the rural population (18-60) in Rawalpindi.The study comprised 318 participants, 60% of whom were female and 40% male. Knowledge regarding antibiotics and the Morisky adherence scale was used to examine adherence, which revealed that The majority of respondents lacks an adequate knowledge of antibiotics. Moreover, while 13% of individuals routinely took their prescribed drugs, a sizable fraction (87%) struggled with it, which is actually a serious issue and can lead to rise in antimicrobial resistance. Chi-square tests was used to investigate the relationship between demographic characteristics, knowledge, and adherence. The findings revealed no significant correlation, implying that demographic characteristics such as age, gender, education level, and income have little influence on awareness and adherence behaviors. The study suggests that, while the some of Rawalpindi’s rural population have good knowledge regarding antibiotics, more than half of the population still lack the proper knowledge, educational interventions are needed to overcome persistent gaps in knowledge and adherence. These findings emphasis the need of implementing focused public health interventions to prevent AMR and promote correct antibiotic use. This study also has some limitations include a smaller sample size than originally planned, and a cross-sectional design that limits causal inference. Time management concerns also limited the amount of data collection