Paper: A literacy-sensitive approach to improving antibiotic understanding in a community-based setting (2016 ACCP Virtual Poster Symposium)

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Crystal David, PharmD¹, Katherine O'Neal, PharmD, MBA², Michael Miller, RPh, DrPH³, Jeremy Johnson, PharmD⁴ and Ann Lloyd, PharmD²
1Infectious Disease Section, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
2College of Pharmacy, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK
3Department of Medical Informatics, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa, OK
4Department of Pharmacy Practice, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, OK

Poster

Introduction: Misuse of antibiotics contributes to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Patient beliefs and knowledge about antibiotics may contribute to the misuse of antibiotics. Health literacy may affect understanding of antibiotic use.

Objectives: This study (1) developed and deployed a program to enhance patient knowledge about antibiotic use; (2) evaluated whether providing patient education is associated with improvements in antibiotic knowledge; and (3) explored the association between antibiotic knowledge and health literacy.

Study Design: Using a prospective pretest-posttest study design, educational seminars were provided to groups of community members. Participant sociodemographic characteristics including a measurement of health literacy were collected at baseline. Antibiotic knowledge was collected before and after the educational seminar.

Methods: Participants were required to be ≥18 years old and English -speaking. Participant knowledge of antibiotic use was measured using a 14-item questionnaire. A knowledge index was constructed by summing the correct answers for a range of 0 to 14. Pre- and post-program knowledge were compared using a paired t-test. Participants were offered a $10 gift card after completing the seminar.

Results: For the 19 participants who took both the pre- and post-test, the antibiotic knowledge index significantly increased by 2 points (p=0.0011) after completing the educational seminar. Although the participants’ Newest Vital Sign (NVS) scores were positively correlated to their pre-test antibiotic knowledge scores; this correlation was not significantly different than zero (p=0.22). However, a positive correlation between NVS scores and post-test antibiotic knowledge scores was found to be statistically significant (p=0.0004).

Conclusions: This study demonstrated: (1) patients have limited understanding of bacteria vs. viruses and treatment; (2) educational programs can improve antibiotic use knowledge; and (3) the educational program may be more effective for those with higher literacy levels.

6 A literacy-sensitive approach to improving antibiotic understanding in a community-based setting