ReviewAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2021
The General Population's Inappropriate Behaviors and Misunderstanding of Antibiotic Use in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- The vicious cycle of the public's irrational use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections: A mixed methods systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2022Pooled it
- Inappropriate antibiotic utilization in hospitalized patients in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2026Review
- Inpatients' willingness to accept antibiotic intravenous-to-oral switch therapy and its influencing factors: a qualitative study based on the Health Belief Model.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Analysis on the Prevalence and Practices of Antibiotic Misuse among Adult Residents of Rodriguez, Rizal: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2026Article
- Mapping socioeconomic factors driving antimicrobial resistance in humans: An umbrella review.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- 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
- Prevalence and associated factors influencing the use of antibiotics for self-medication among Chinese residents: a cross-sectional study in 2021.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Status and implications of the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards AWaRe antibiotic use, resistance and stewardship among low- and middle-income countries.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- Article
- Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice About Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance Among Nursing Students in China: A Cross Sectional Study.Infection and drug resistance · 2024Article
- Isolation and identification of specificFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Factors Influencing Inappropriate Use of Antibiotics in Infants under 3 Years of Age in Primary Care: A Qualitative Study of the Paediatricians' Perceptions.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Long-term trend of antibiotic use at public health care institutions in northwest China, 2012-20 -- a case study of Gansu Province.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Overuse of medications in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2023Article
- Knowledge, attitude and practice on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance among competent persons in the community pharmacies in Bhutan.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The public's antibiotic use behavioural patterns and their determinants for upper respiratory tract infections: a latent class analysis based on consumer behaviour model in China.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Estimates of Dietary Exposure to Antibiotics among a Community Population in East China.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Bacterial profile and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of uropathogens causing urinary tract infection in the eastern part of Northern India.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Antibiotic Use among the Population of Boyolali, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The general population has increasingly become the key contributor to irrational antibiotic use in China, which fuels the emergence of antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of the general population's irrational use behaviors of antibiotics and identify the potential reasons behind them. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed concerning four main behaviors relevant to easy access and irrational use of antibiotics and common misunderstandings among the population about antibiotics. Four databases were searched, and studies published before 28 February 2021 were retrieved. Medium and high-level quality studies were included. Random effects meta-analysis was performed to calculate the prevalence of the general population's irrational behaviors and misunderstandings relevant to antibiotic use. A total of 8468 studies were retrieved and 78 met the criteria and were included. The synthesis showed the public can easily obtain unnecessary antibiotics, with an estimated 37% (95% CI: 29-46) of the population demanding antibiotics from physicians and 47% (95% CI: 38-57) purchasing non-prescription antibiotics from pharmacies. This situation is severe in the western area of China. People also commonly inappropriately use antibiotics by not following antibiotic prescriptions (pooled estimate: 48%, 95% CI: 41-55) and preventatively use antibiotics for non-indicated diseases (pooled estimate: 35%, 95% CI: 29-42). Misunderstanding of antibiotic use was also popular among people, including incorrect antibiotic recognition, wrong antibiotic use indication, inappropriate usage, and ignorance of potential adverse outcomes. Over-and inappropriate use of antibiotics is evident in China and a multifaceted antibiotic strategy targeted at the general population is urgently required.
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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.