Patients' Practices Regarding Antibiotic Use: A Cross-Sectional Study in Al-Najaf City Hospitals, Iraq

الملخص

Background: Antibiotics are important medicines that require great awareness in their use to avoid bacterial resistance, as their misuse is considered one of the most prominent global health challenges. Objective: this study aims to assess the level of practice of patients toward antibiotics use. Methodology: cross-sectional study was conducted in selected government hospitals in Al-Najaf city from 1 September 2024 until the end of January 2025 to assess the practice of patients on antibiotic use. Data were collected from 400 patients using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS-27. Results: the results of this study indicate that 59.8% of patients have a moderate practice score, followed by 20.2% of the participants have a good practice score, and only 20.0% of patients have a poor practice score. The results of this study reveal that there is a significant relationship between demographic characteristics (such as age groups, residence, gender, marital status, educational level, high professional occupation and socioeconomic status) and overall practices score (P. value <0.05). Conclusion: The study conclude that more than half of patients have moderate level of practices about antibiotic use. The study concludes that older married patients who live in urban areas, have high education level, high occupational status, and high socio-economic status have good practice score toward antibiotics.