ArticleAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2020
Evidence of the Practice of Self-Medication with Antibiotics among the Lay Public in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.
Article in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Non-prescription antibiotic use and its predictors among children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- No prescription? No problem: drivers of non-prescribed sale of antibiotics among community drug retail outlets in low and middle income countries: a systematic review of qualitative studies.BMC public health · 2021Pooled it
- When Antibiotics Are Refused: A Qualitative Study of Patient-Provider Communication, Trust, and Reported or Anticipated Responses in Jordan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Related to Antibiotic Use and Antibiotic Resistance Among Adults in Communities of Montserrado County, Liberia: A Household-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Antibiotic Resistance: From the Bench to Patients, 2.0.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Antibiotic self-medication behaviours and contributing factors among adults in the Southern West Bank, Palestine.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Article
- Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Antibiotic Resistance Patterns of Common Bacterial Pathogens to Antibiotics in Northern Ghana.Journal of clinical laboratory analysis · 2026Article
- Factors driving antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance among college-going students in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Multicentric Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance to Generate Data-Driven Regional Antibiograms: A Laboratory-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Pakistan.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Pharmacists' practices, perceptions, and challenges in dispensing antibiotics without prescription: a qualitative study in Palestine.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
- Antimicrobial Resistance in Oral Healthcare: A Growing Concern in Dentistry.Dentistry journal · 2025Review
- Prevalence and risk factors of self-medication with antibiotics in the general population of Tehran-a population-based study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Antimicrobial Resistance in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comprehensive Landscape Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Review
- Social Determinants of Health and Antibiotic Consumption.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Factors associated with health seeking behaviours and practice of antibiotics self-medication among adults in Abakaliki Metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Antibiotic self-medication in Otuke District, Northern Uganda: Prevalence and associated factors.PloS one · 2025Article
- Ensuring safe and effective pharmacotherapy: The role of "community pharmacology" in attaining "health for all" from the Indian perspective.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Understanding the Determinants Influencing Self-Medication with Antibiotics Among Malaysian Residents: A Qualitative Study to Inform Preventive Public Health Strategies.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Pneumococcal carriage and changes in serotype distribution post- PCV13 introduction in children in Matiari, Pakistan.Vaccine · 2024Article
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current scoping review is an attempt to explore the key reasons, determinants, patterns and prevalence related to self-medication with antibiotics (SMA) among the lay public. An online search was conducted using Google Scholar, Science Direct, ProQuest and PubMed. A two-phase mapping approach was used. In the first phase, studies were screened. In the second phase, the data were extracted from selected studies followed by the assessment of data quality. A total of 24 studies were included; 20 were cross-sectional, 3 were qualitative and one was observational. The most common indications were flu, cough, common colds, sore throat, diarrhea, toothache and fever. The most common determinants reported were past good experience and suggestions from friends or relatives. The use of SMA was observed to be more frequent in younger aged individuals belonging to low- or middle-income groups. The prevalence rate was reported to be high among the South Asian lay public and may be a major contributor to antibiotic resistance. In conclusion, this scoping review identifies a need for education campaigns and mass media campaigns to strengthen lay public awareness about the side effects and risks associated with SMA. In addition to this, there is a need to implement strict policies by government agencies to restrict over the counter availability of antibiotics.
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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.