The practice of self-medi cation and irrational use of antibacterial drugs in the Republic of Belarus

Introduction . One of the key drivers of antibiotic resistance is their irrational use and self-medication, which reaches up to 89% in some countries. To assess the current situation and develop targeted interventions aimed at curbing self-medication and inappropriate antibiotic use in the Republic of Belarus, a cross-sectional nationwide sociological study was conducted. The purpose of the study is to assess the level of irrational use and self-medication with antibacterial drugs among the population of the Republic of Belarus. Materials and methods . The study employed a questionnaire survey method using a specially designed and population-adapted questionnaire for the Republic of Belarus. Statistical analysis of results was performed using the Statistica software package and R-Studio. Results . The most commonly reported reasons for antibiotic use were predominantly irrational (53.2%), including acute respiratory viral infections, fever, cough, sore throat, headache. Key factors significantly associated with inappropriate antibiotic use: female gender, over-the-counter pharmacy purchases without prescription, initiation of therapy without laboratory confirmation, use of leftover antibiotics from previous treatments, lack of knowledge about proper antibiotic use, opposition to prescription-only regulations. Analysis revealed that 18.7% of respondents took antibiotics without a doctor’s prescription, of whom 69.5% initiated self-treatment independently. The study found that young age increased self-medication risk by 2.4 times, lack of higher education by 4.7 times, negative attitude toward prescription-only regulations by nearly threefold, and absence of pre-treatment test results by 2.9 times. Conclusion . The study findings demonstrate persistent challenges regarding irrational antibiotic use and self-medication practices among the Belarusian population, despite comparatively more favorable indicators relative to other countries.