Factors associated with antibiotic utilisation among household heads living in the staff quarters of the University of Nigeria

The World Health Organization (WHO) and global health authorities have highlighted the misuse of antibiotics as a critical public health issue, prompting increased examination of antibiotic use practices. This study assessed factors influencing antibiotic utilization among household heads living in the staff quarters of a Nigerian university. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 100 randomly selected household heads residing in the staff quarters of the University of Nigeria using a 25-item questionnaire. Retrieved data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS (Version-27), with the significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. 93 respondents participated in this study (response rate = 93%), 38 (40.9%) males. Postgraduate degrees were the highest qualifications of 51 (58.6%) respondents. While 41 (43.2%) respondents sometimes used antibiotics without a prescription, 33 (34.7%) trusted their prescriber’s decision on the prescription (or not) of antibiotics, with 41 (43.2%) obtaining antibiotics from pharmacies without prescriptions. Family size (p = 0.015), gender (p = 0.022), and educational level (p = 0.047) were all related to their antibiotic use practices. Many staff who are residents of the university-provided quarters at the University of Nigeria inappropriately use antibiotics. Family size, gender, and educational level were identified as determinants of antibiotic use.