Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31150515›Full record

ArticlePloS one2019

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to antibiotic use in Paschim Bardhaman District: A survey of healthcare providers in West Bengal, India.

Mohit Nair, Santanu Tripathi, Sumit Mazumdar, Raman Mahajan, Amit Harshana, Alan Pereira, Carolina Jimenez, Debasish Halder, Sakib Burza

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
6.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Mohit NairMedecins Sans Frontieres, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0002-3410-8541
Santanu TripathiCalcutta School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India.
Sumit MazumdarCalcutta School of Tropical Medicine, Kolkata, India.
Raman MahajanMedecins Sans Frontieres, New Delhi, India.
Amit HarshanaMedecins Sans Frontieres, New Delhi, India.
Alan PereiraMedecins Sans Frontieres, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0001-7578-3626
Carolina JimenezMedecins Sans Frontieres, Barcelona, Spain.
Debasish HalderPaschim Bardhaman Health District, West Bengal, India.
Sakib BurzaMedecins Sans Frontieres, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0001-7886-8633
Médecins Sans Frontières · ES

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAntibiotic misuse is widespread and contributes to antibiotic resistance, especially in less regulated health systems such as India. Although informal providers are involved with substantial segments of primary healthcare, their level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices is not well documented in the literature.

objectivesThis quantitative study systematically examines the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of informal and formal providers with respect to antibiotic use.

methodsWe surveyed a convenience sample of 384 participants (96 allopathic doctors, 96 nurses, 96 informal providers, and 96 pharmacy shopkeepers) over a period of 8 weeks from December to February using a validated questionnaire developed in Italy. Our team created an equivalent, composite KAP score for each respondent in the survey, which was subsequently compared between providers. We then performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis to estimate the odds of having a low composite score (<80) based on occupation by comparing allopathic doctors (referent category) with all other study participants. The model was adjusted for age (included as a continuous variable) and gender.

resultsDoctors scored highest in questions assessing knowledge (77.3%) and attitudes (87.3%), but performed poorly in practices (67.6%). Many doctors knew that antibiotics were not indicated for viral infections, but over 87% (n = 82) reported prescribing them in this situation. Nurses, pharmacy shopkeepers, and informal providers were more likely to perform poorly on the survey compared to allopathic doctors (OR: 10.4, 95% CI 5.4, 20.0, p<0.01). 30.8% (n = 118) of all providers relied on pharmaceutical company representatives as a major source of information about antibiotics.

conclusionsOur findings indicate poor knowledge and awareness of antibiotic use and functions among informal health providers, and dissonance between knowledge and practices among allopathic doctors. The nexus between allopathic doctors, pharmaceutical company representatives, and informal health providers present promising avenues for future research and intervention.

Indexed as

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeAdultAnti-Bacterial AgentsDrug MisuseDrug Resistance, MicrobialFemaleHealth PersonnelHumansIndiaMaleMiddle AgedNursesPharmacistsPhysiciansSurveys and QuestionnairesAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID31150515
PMCPMC6544287
OpenAlexW2947669868

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.