Factors Associated with Parental Self-medication of Antibiotics in Health Centers of Manila.

The practice of self-medication is widespread around the world and misuse of medications may lead to serious adverse effects and drug interactions. The study aimed to identify factors associated with antimicrobial self-medication practices of mothers with children aged 18 years old and below. In conducting the research, cross sectional descriptive study and purposive sampling were followed. A total of 390 mothers were included in the study and data were collected using questionnaireguided interview. The results suggest that parental self-medication using antibiotics was prevalent (42.05%) and age of mothers was found associated with it (p< 0.029, OR = 1.02). Mothers were giving antibiotics to their children without prescription mainly for cough (33.54%). Amoxicillin (50.25%) was the preferred antibiotic, with 54.08% incorrect use. Other antibiotics abused were cephalexin (8.46%), co-amoxiclav (6.15%), erythromycin (4.87%), co-trimoxazole (4.10%), cloxacillin (3.59%), cefuroxime (1.79%) and penicillin (1.79%). Mothers declared that they get antimicrobial information from health centers and other sources (42.68%) followed by old prescriptions (28.66%) and relatives (23.17%). Community pharmacies (85.37%) were the main source of antibiotics followed by health centers (23.17%). Despite the understanding of the mothers regarding the use of antibiotics, it is notable that there is an increased misuse of antibiotics. This can be attributed to the limited understanding of viruses, for only 36.41% of respondents identified that antibiotics should not be used for viral infections. Therefore, the findings may help the government to implement strict implementation of the pharmacy regulations regarding the sale of antibiotics and educational interventions about rational use of antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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