Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistant Threats Report shows that antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths in the United States each year. This equates to at least one infection every 11 seconds and one death resulting from antibiotic resistance every 15 minutes. The CDC states that there were almost twice as many deaths each year from antibiotic resistance compared to statistics reported in 2013 (CDC, 2019a). Proper antibiotic use is the responsibility of the provider and the patient. Patient knowledge should consist of how to prevent antibiotic misuse, certain disease processes that require antibiotics, and the significance of taking antibiotics as prescribed. Therefore, determining if the patient has a thorough knowledge of these particular factors could help prevent one of the major threats faced worldwide today, which is antibiotic resistance.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the patient has knowledge of risk factors associated with antibiotic misuse. The researchers conducted a quantitative, descriptive study using a convenience sampling of 500 patients from eight clinics located in Mississippi. This study consisted of a voluntary questionnaire given to patients within these clinics. Prior to conducting the study, consent was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Mississippi University for Women. For data collection, the researchers used a data collection questionnaire, which included demographics such as age, gender, insurance provider, and education level. After data collection, the data was subjected to analyses using descriptive statistics including knowledge, misuse, and perception regarding antibiotics.

The results of this study showed this sample of respondents were quite knowledgeable about antibiotic use and thus are expected to be more likely to use antibiotics appropriately. However, those at greater risk for misuse (those less knowledgeable) are less likely to perceive that their health care provider is knowledgeable regarding antibiotic use.

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Graduate Nursing

Degree Date

8-2020

First Advisor

Dr. Alena Lester

Second Advisor

Dr. Suanne Davidson

Third Advisor

Dr. Sally Pearson

Document Type

Thesis

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