Parental Knowledge ,attitude,and practice about antibiotic use in children ander 12 years old at shahroods khatam hospital in1396

 Over-consumption of antibiotics in the community has caused more concern worldwide about increasing microbial resistance. Several factors are associated with excessive consumption of antibiotics. This study investigated the level of parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding antibiotic use and the factors influencing it in children under the age of 12 years who referred to Khatam-al-Anbia Hospital in Shahrood, Iran. Totally, 97 parents of children who were under 12 years of age were enrolled in this descriptive cross-sectional study during 2017. The data were collected using parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices of antibiotic use questionnaire in children younger than 12 years of age. Moreover, the data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. According to the results, the parental levels of knowledge were poor (n=11, 11.3%),  moderate (n=23, 23.7%), and good (n=63, 64.9%). Moreover, the mean score of parental knowledge level was obtained at 8.7±2.66. In addition, the attitude levels were moderate and good in 27 (27.8%) and 70 parents (72.2%), respectively. The mean score of parental attitude level was estimated at 7.97±1.35. Furthermore, regarding the parental practice domain, 8 (8.2%), 30 (30.9%), and 59 (60.8%) parents were considered poor, moderate, and good, respectively. The mean score of parental practice level was determined at 5.8±2.07. It should be noted that parents with higher levels of education and previous history of infectious diseases in the family showed higher levels regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices in terms of antibiotic use. The improvement of parental awareness and knowledge levels about antibiotic use will increase the level of attitude, decrease the demand for antibiotics, improve the practices of parents, and reduce the use of antibiotics, thereby decreasing the growth of antibiotic resistance in the community.