Cognition and status quo of antibiotic use among primary doctors in Sichuan Province, China

Abstract

Introduction The aim of this study was to understand the knowledge and current situation of antibiotic use among primary doctors in Sichuan Province, 10 years after the new healthcare reform, to analyze the implementation and impact of the relevant policies of the new healthcare reform, to analyze the reasons for the irrational use of antibiotics, and to provide relevant suggestions for the rational use of antibiotics. Methods From August 2018 to March 2019, five counties (cities) were randomly selected according to the level of urban development and geographical distribution in Sichuan Province, China. Various primary medical institutions and private clinics were randomly selected at different levels. Questionnaires and on-site interviews were conducted to quantitatively analyze doctors’ knowledge of antibiotic use and current situation. Views on antibiotic use were analyzed qualitatively and from multiple perspectives. A total of 492 questionnaires were issued, 430 of which were valid, with an effective recovery rate of 87.4% Results Quantitative analysis showed that 92.1% of 430 doctors surveyed knew the rules and authority of antibiotic use; 83.5% participated in antibiotic knowledge training; 56.7% would abide by guidance on antibiotic use; 72.6% thought that their knowledge of antibiotics needed to be improved. The rank-sum test shows that the cognitive differences of doctors with or without relevant training experience are statistically significant (p=0.018), those with the relevant training were better than the untrained doctors; the cognitive differences of doctors with different working years were statistically significant (p=0.038), and the doctors working under 10 years were better than those with 10–20 years; There was no significant difference in the correct rate of antibiotic use among doctors with different academic qualifications (p=0.077). There was no significant difference in knowing the correct rate of antibiotic use among doctors of different genders (p=0.076). Conclusions Ten years after the introduction of the new healthcare reform policy, the improvement of antibiotic use is still far from the expected goal; the knowledge of antibiotic rational use of doctors in primary medical institutions needs to be strengthened, especially in village clinics and private clinics; joint efforts of doctors, patients and supervisors are needed to promote the rational use of antibiotics.

Keywords

• antibiotics
• grassroots doctors
• use awareness