Serbian students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards antibiotic use: is there room for improvement?

OBJECTIVES This study has been aimed at evaluating knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of university students regarding the usage of antibiotics focusing on differences between medical and nonmedical students. METHODS This cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed on 800 students of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. RESULTS The identified predictors of adequate antibiotic knowledge were enrolled in medical program, higher grade average and appropriate use of antibiotics during last infection. Multivariate regression identified following predictors of self-medication: being medical student (B = 0.715; p < 0.001), more frequent (B = 0.628; p < 0.001) and irregular (B = 0.584; p = 0.001) antibiotic use, a family member engaged in medical profession (B = 0.789; p < 0.001), living in dormitory (B = 0.679; p = 0.007) or rented apartment (B = 0.621; p = 0.002), using antibiotics until symptoms resolved (B = 1.616; p < 0.001) or until the bottle was finished (B = 0.628; p < 0.001) during the last infection. CONCLUSIONS Although a high number of students showed adequate knowledge about antibiotics, numerous misconceptions were recorded, including self-medication. Further educational interventions are necessary to improve their understanding, perceptions as well as their behaviour towards antibiotic use.