ArticleBMJ open2026
Knowledge, attitudes and practices of Tunisian paramedic students regarding antibiotics and factors associated with self-medication: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of students at the School of Health Sciences and Techniques of Monastir regarding antibiotic use and self-medication and to identify associated factors.
designDescriptive and analytical cross-sectional knowledge, attitude and practice study.
settingSchool of Health Sciences and Techniques of Monastir, Tunisia, during the 2023-2024 academic year.
participants324/500 students (64.8% response rate) recruited through inclusion criteria (enrolled students with informed consent). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge assessment, prevalence of self-medication and factors associated with self-medication (OR with 95% CI).
resultsParticipants had a mean age of 21.6±2.4 years. Most (62.3%) had not received a specific course on antibiotics. While 91.4% correctly identified bacteria as the target of antibiotics, 40.1% mistakenly believed they were also effective against viruses.Regarding practices, 60.5% of students reported self-medication with antibiotics, mainly amoxicillin (78.2%) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (46.2%). The main reasons included previous positive experience (45.2%) and perceiving symptoms as minor (40.6%). Keeping leftover antibiotics (OR=2.6 (1.532-4399)), having antibiotics for emergency use (OR=3.3 (1.905-5723)) and prior training in antibiotic use (OR=1.9 (1.135-3263)) were significantly associated with self-medication.
conclusionsSelf-medication is prevalent in paramedic students even with prior training in antibiotic use. Targeted educational strategies along with behaviour modification approaches are needed to raise awareness about microbial resistance and limit self-medication.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.