ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2007
Public beliefs on antibiotics and respiratory tract infections: an internet-based questionnaire study.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of telemedicine-based antimicrobial stewardship program to combat antimicrobial resistance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of telemedicine and telecare · 2025Pooled it
- Factors influencing physicians' antimicrobial prescribing decisions: A systematic review of qualitative studies.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Can patient education initiatives in primary care increase patient knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use and decrease expectations for unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions?Family practice · 2025Pooled it
- Systemic corticosteroids for acute sinusitis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- How long does a cough last? Comparing patients' expectations with data from a systematic review of the literature.Annals of family medicinePooled it
- Results from a Patient-Based Health Education Intervention in Reducing Antibiotic Use for Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in the Private Sector Primary Care Setting in Singapore.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2017Trial
- Knowledge and Attitudes towards Antibiotic Use and Resistance - A Latent Class Analysis of a Swedish Population-Based Sample.PloS one · 2016Trial
- Converting habits of antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in German primary care--the cluster-randomized controlled CHANGE-2 trial.BMC family practice · 2012Trial
- Effect of point of care testing for C reactive protein and training in communication skills on antibiotic use in lower respiratory tract infections: cluster randomised trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2009Trial
- Reducing unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics for acute cough: adaptation of a leaflet aimed at Turkish immigrants in Germany.BMC family practice · 2008Trial
- Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing and antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial.Annals of family medicineTrial
- Beyond the prescription: unraveling knowledge, attitudes, and the socio-demographic tapestry of antibiotic misuse among university students in Egypt.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Strep Throat and Rheumatic Fever: A Cross-Sectional Study Among the United Arab Emirates Population.Avicenna journal of medicine · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Perceptions, and Behaviors Regarding Antibiotic Use in a Community-Based Adult Sample in Salerno: An Observational Survey in a Province in Southern Italy.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The public's irrational use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections: a cross-sectional study based on the health belief model.Scientific reports · 2025Observational
- Knowledge, Attitudes, Motivations, Expectations, and Systemic Factors Regarding Antimicrobial Use Amongst Community Members Seeking Care at the Primary Healthcare Level: A Scoping Review.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Antibiotic awareness: exploring knowledge among culturally and linguistically diverse patients.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2025Article
- Respiratory syncytial virus knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions among adults in the United States.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2024Article
- Misconceptions and Knowledge Gaps on Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Four Healthcare Settings and Five European Countries-A Modified Delphi Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Addressing Consumer Misconceptions on Antibiotic Use and Resistance in the Context of Sore Throat: Learnings from Social Media Listening.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatient expectations are among the strongest predictors of clinicians' antibiotic prescribing decisions. Although public knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of antibiotics contribute to these expectations, little is known about these public views.
aimTo gain insight into public knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of antibiotics and respiratory tract infections. DESIGN OF STUDY: Cross-sectional, internet-based questionnaire study.
settingMembers of the general public aged 16 years and over in the Netherlands.
methodsPublic knowledge, beliefs, and experiences of antibiotics and respiratory tract infections, as well as predictors of accurate knowledge of antibiotic effectiveness, were measured using 20 questions with sub-items. The questionnaire was given to a Dutch community-based nationwide internet panel of 15 673 individuals. Of these, 1248 eligible responders were invited to participate; 935 responders (75%) completed the questionnaire.
resultsOf the participants, 44.6% accurately identified antibiotics as being effective against bacteria and not viruses. Acute bronchitis was considered to require treatment with antibiotics by nearly 60% of responders. The perceived need for antibiotics for respiratory tract infection-related symptoms ranged from 6.5% for cough with transparent phlegm, to 46.2% for a cough lasting for more than 2 weeks.
conclusionPublic misconceptions on the effectiveness of, and indications for, antibiotics exist. Nearly half of all responders (47.8%) incorrectly identified antibiotics as being effective in treating viral infections. Doctors should be aware that unnecessary prescribing could facilitate misconceptions regarding antibiotics and respiratory tract infections. Expectations of receiving antibiotics were higher for the disease label 'acute bronchitis' than for any of the separate or combined symptoms prominently present in respiratory tract infection. Public beliefs and expectations should be taken into account when developing interventions targeting the public, patients, and physicians to reduce unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.