A new Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) poll indicates that intensive efforts to educate the US public about the threat of antimicrobial resistance are paying off with high awareness of the problem, but some gaps in understanding still remain, including patients' role in reducing the risk.
The new poll, whose findings were released today, was designed to gauge the public's experience with and knowledge about antibiotic resistance and assess how the issue measures up against other high-profile health threats, such as the opioid crisis and measles outbreaks.
KFF conducted the random telephone poll of 1,206 adults age 18 and older from May 30 to Jun 4. The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Perceptions, knowledge, demographic drivers
Most Americans have heard the terms "antibiotic resistance" (71%) and "superbugs" (55%) and know what they mean. For comparison, fewer (49%) said they know the meaning of the term "antivaxxers."
Just over half of the people polled ranked antibiotic overuse as a major problem. And when pollsters looked at how people view the issue against other major health threats, they found that many more (82%) are worried about the opioid epidemic, with less but similar concern over preventable diseases such as measles (73%) and antibiotic resistance (72%).
An even smaller percentage (63%) were worried about global outbreaks such as Zika or Ebola virus. When asked how worried they were about personal effects of each of the problems on them or their family, the percentages for each were lower, with the ranking of the issues the same.
Most people were aware of possible negative consequences of antibiotic overuse, such as patients having to take stronger medicine for previously easy-to-treat infections and that resistant infections could last longer, become more dangerous, and cost more to treat. The pollsters found, however, that a third of respondents didn't know enough to say or didn't think overuse would lead to the consequences.
Drilling down to treatment issues
When the researchers examined people's knowledge about antibiotic use, 75% of respondents were aware that they can treat bacterial infections, but there were still some misconceptions, with more than half (55%) responding that viral infections can be cured or they didn't know if they can be cured. Similarly, 47% said either that flu could be treated with antibiotics or they didn't know if the drugs could be used to treat the condition.
Knowledge about treatment varied by demographics; more than half of women reported that viral infections can't be treated with antibiotics, but two thirds of men incorrectly thought the drug would be effective. Adults under age 64 and those with higher incomes were more likely to know antibiotics aren't effective against viruses.
Regarding personal antibiotic use, the poll found that nearly half (45%) haven't taken antibiotics as prescribed, one of the factors driving the development of resistance. Of those who said they misused antibiotics, 39% didn't finish a course of antibiotics and 16% said they took them without talking to a physician or other health professional.
In looking at people's experiences with antibiotics, researchers found that nearly half (45%) took them when they weren't feeling well without talking to a doctor first or stopped taking the drugs before the prescribed course was finished.
Decisions were driven by demographic factors, with working-age adults and those without college educations more likely to make antibiotic decisions without consulting a doctor.
Based on respondents' experiences in doctor's offices, nearly a quarter (24%) said they recall a time when a healthcare provider prescribed an antibiotic that they didn't think was needed. However, 19% said they or a family member asked for an antibiotic but the provider declined.
As far as addressing the problem, most said pharmaceutical companies (59%) and healthcare providers (56%) are responsible for addressing antibiotic resistance, but far fewer (30%) said patients play a role.
See also:
Jun 21 KFF press release
KFF poll landing page
