{"title":"Prevalence and associated factors of self-medication with antibiotics among pediatric population in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Tambe Daniel Atem, Ruby Singh, Dorothy Newbury-Birch, Biplab Pal, Vaibhav Chaudhary","doi":"10.1186/s12887-025-05676-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Antibiotic resistance presents a substantial threat to global public health. One of the primary contributors to antibiotic resistance is the irrational use of antibiotics. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the prevalence and associated factors of antibiotic self-medication (ASM) practices among the pediatric population in India.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar to identify relevant articles published up to December 2024. Inclusion criteria included studies reporting the prevalence rate of ASM practices among the pediatric population in India. Quality assessment of the included studies was conducted using the JBI tool for prevalence studies. Data were extracted using a standardized form and analyzed using R software with a random-effects model.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventeen studies involving 7847 children were analyzed. The pooled prevalence of pediatric ASM in India was 19.8% (95% CI: 13.5; 28.2; I<sup>2</sup> = 98.2%; p < 0.01). Regional disparities were observed (p < 0.01), with the northern region exhibiting the highest prevalence at 30.7%. No significant difference in prevalence was found between studies that recruited participants from hospital and community settings (p = 0.0552). Key factors associated with pediatric ASM included financial constraints, time constraints, perceptions of mild illness, and limited healthcare access. Common sources for procuring antibiotics were local pharmacies, leftover medications, and friends/family members. Information sources regarding the use of antibiotics included previous prescriptions, friends/family members, media, past experiences, and pharmacists. The mean duration of antibiotic consumption was 2.5 days.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Self-medication with antibiotics was prevalent among the pediatric population in India. Therefore, government and policymakers should take necessary measures to promote the responsible use of antibiotics.</p>","PeriodicalId":9144,"journal":{"name":"BMC Pediatrics","volume":"25 1","pages":"451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12135438/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Pediatrics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05676-8","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Antibiotic resistance presents a substantial threat to global public health. One of the primary contributors to antibiotic resistance is the irrational use of antibiotics. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the prevalence and associated factors of antibiotic self-medication (ASM) practices among the pediatric population in India.
Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar to identify relevant articles published up to December 2024. Inclusion criteria included studies reporting the prevalence rate of ASM practices among the pediatric population in India. Quality assessment of the included studies was conducted using the JBI tool for prevalence studies. Data were extracted using a standardized form and analyzed using R software with a random-effects model.
Results: Seventeen studies involving 7847 children were analyzed. The pooled prevalence of pediatric ASM in India was 19.8% (95% CI: 13.5; 28.2; I2 = 98.2%; p < 0.01). Regional disparities were observed (p < 0.01), with the northern region exhibiting the highest prevalence at 30.7%. No significant difference in prevalence was found between studies that recruited participants from hospital and community settings (p = 0.0552). Key factors associated with pediatric ASM included financial constraints, time constraints, perceptions of mild illness, and limited healthcare access. Common sources for procuring antibiotics were local pharmacies, leftover medications, and friends/family members. Information sources regarding the use of antibiotics included previous prescriptions, friends/family members, media, past experiences, and pharmacists. The mean duration of antibiotic consumption was 2.5 days.
Conclusion: Self-medication with antibiotics was prevalent among the pediatric population in India. Therefore, government and policymakers should take necessary measures to promote the responsible use of antibiotics.
期刊介绍：
BMC Pediatrics is an open access journal publishing peer-reviewed research articles in all aspects of health care in neonates, children and adolescents, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
