Evaluation of Attitudes and Practices of mothers on Antibiotic Use in Children under five years old Referred to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, 2019-2020

Microbial resistance due to antibiotics overuse can endanger the general health of society. Various factors play a role in mothers' overuse of antibiotics for their children. This study aimed to investigate mothers' attitude and behavior about the use of antibiotics in children under five years old in Yazd City.

In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 302 mothers with children under five years old were included in 2019-2020; a questionnaire of mothers' attitudes and practices regarding antibiotic use was completed. Then, the obtained data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 and P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The mothers' attitude level was poor, moderate, and good in 60 (20%), 180 (59.5%), and 62 patients (20.5%), respectively. Furthermore, mothers' practice level was poor in 55 (18.2%), moderate in 210 (69.5%) and good in 37 (12.3%). The level of attitude (P = 0.000) and practice (P = 0.007) in mothers with a higher level of education was significantly higher. With increasing the number of children, mothers' attitude (P = 0.03) and practice (P = 0.02) were significantly lower.

The study results showed that most mothers have a moderate level of attitude and practice in using antibiotics in their children. A significant number of them also mentioned antibiotic use without a prescription. Therefore, to reduce the improper use of antibiotics, it is recommended to pay attention to educational programs with proper planning by the public media. It makes sense to train physicians, monitor their performance and closely monitor the sale of antibiotics in pharmacies to reduce their use without a doctor's prescription.