A cross-sectional assessment of Indonesian female health cadres' knowledge and attitude towards antibiotics

Introduction: Health cadres have a key role in building awareness related to irrational antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in Indonesia. Cadres help to bridge the gap between the shortage of health professionals and the need to reach the broader population. This study aimed to identify cadres' background, antibiotic knowledge and attitudes in an Indonesian setting. Methodology: A paper-based questionnaire survey was validated and conducted among purposefully selected cadres attending a seminar in Malang Indonesia. A 5-point Likert scale was used to identify attitudes, while true/false statements determined their knowledge. A total of 112 cadres responded, giving a 100% response rate. Results: The majority had been cadres for >2 years with previous counseling experience. Their attitudes on antibiotic use, were shown by the lower levels of disagreement to the statements “when I get a sore throat, I prefer to use antibiotics” (37.5%); “I would take antibiotics if I have had a cough for more than one week” (41.1%); and, “when I get influenza, I would take antibiotics to help me recover sooner” (47.3%), within the “indications” domain. For knowledge, lower scores were reported for domains related to “indications” (mean 1.49 ± 0.82/3), “resistance” (mean 1.06 ± 0.94/3), and “storage and disposal” (mean 1.23 ± 0.78/3). Conclusions: These findings indicated a need to improve cadres' attitudes and knowledge prior their involvement as change agents for improving the rational use of antibiotics to minimise antibiotic resistance in Indonesia.