Comprehension on Antimicrobial Drug Use of Outpatients at Buriram Hospital

Abstract

     The objectives of this study were to study the comprehension outpatients at Buriram Hospital and the factors effecting their comprehension on antimicrobial drug use. Interviewing form with the reliability of .79 was used for data collection. The samples, 309 outpatients at Buriram Hospital, were selected by purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used for data analysis.
     The results showed that 78.6 % of the samples comprehended how to use the antimicrobial drug at a good level. All of the samples (100 %) comprehended the amount of the drug to be taken each time, 98.1 % comprehended how often to take the drug per day. Only 23.3 % comprehended how to take the drug before meals. The factors which caused the different levels of comprehension were the level of education, the number of times visited the hospital, the drug counseling and the kind of the drug.
     In conclusion, it appears that most of the samples comprehened the amount of the drug to take each time and how often to take it per day. A small number of the patients comprehended how to take the drug before meals and how suitable to store the drug. In addition to these, counseling is one of methods to increase patient’s comprehension. The results of this study can be used as a guideline for counseling the patients on the use of antimicrobial drugs and other drugs.