Abstract:
Antibiotic resistance is a crucial problem for public health, and it can also affect the economic. This descriptive study aimed (1) to assess the knowledge regarding antibiotic use,(2) to assess antibiotic use behaviors, and (3) to assess stakeholder perspectives on antibiotic use restriction in urban area, Pua district, Nan Province. Data collection started by using a questionnaires a tool to interview 255 persons who were the representative of each household. 12 healthcare workers and pharmacy owners and 8 local administrative officers and community representatives were defined as the stakeholders and selected to join a focus group discussion. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data, while content summary was used to analyze qualitative data. The finding revealed that 45.5 percent of participants had misconceptions about antibiotics, especially antibiotics was to be the same as anti-inflammation. Medical accessibility was easy, people can get antibiotics by themselves from clinics, drug stores, and grocery stores. Also, a quarter of them used antibiotics for mild symptoms as self-medication. Stakeholders absolutely agreed to establish guidelines for antibiotic use restriction in urban area. The results reflect that health literacy of antibiotic use must be provided to the people. In addition, antibiotic use surveillance system and social sanction might be applied under cooperation from multi-sectors. Implication of this thematic Paper: Public health agencies, local administration, private sector, and the public sector should make a commitment to integrate antibiotics use surveillance system. Public campaigns for rational use of antibiotics should continue to strengthen health literacy regarding antibiotic usage