Effect of Health Instructions on the Awareness of Rural Mothers Regarding Antibiotic Misuse
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Background: Antibiotic misuse was a major public health problem that contributes toantibiotic resistance and threatens the effectiveness of treatment for bacterial infections.Educating mothers about appropriate antibiotic use, helps reduce misuse and resistance, withcommunity health nurses supporting prevention through education. Aim: To evaluate theeffectiveness of health instructions on the awareness of rural mothers regarding antibioticmisuse. Design: A quasi-experimental research design (pre/post-test) study. Setting: DamatRural Health Unit at Qatour district, Tanta, Egypt. Subjects: A convenience sample of 102rural mothers was recruited. Tools: Two tools were used in the study. Tool I: Mothers'awareness regarding antibiotic misuse composed of two parts: Part 1: Socio-demographiccharacteristics of the studied rural mothers, Part 2: Knowledge of the studied rural mothersregarding antibiotic and its misuse, Part 3: Mothers’ reported practices regarding antibioticmisuse. Tool II: Mothers’ attitudes regarding antibiotic misuse Results: Total mean scoressignificantly improved (P = 0.001) from pre-intervention to four weeks’ post-intervention:knowledge increased from 14.36 ± 4.18 to 23.14 ± 2.96, reported practices improved from19.21 ± 3.34 to 23.34 ± 2.18, and attitude scores rose from 20.62 ± 3.06 to 23.12 ± 2.78.High knowledge levels reached 73.5% and satisfactory practices reached 96.1%.Conclusions and recommendations: Health instructions significantly improved overallawareness, including knowledge, practices, and attitudes among rural mothers regardingantibiotic misuse, with sustained benefits at the four-week follow-up. Regular educationaland follow-up programs on proper antibiotic use should be integrated into rural communityhealth services.
Source: Tanta Scientific Nursing Journal
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $200
OpenAlex ID: W7222902894