Table 3 Sociodemographic variables associated with believing that antibiotics cure respiratory infection faster and incorrect responses to key knowledge questions
Sociodemographic strata | Believe that antibiotics cure respiratory infection faster | Incorrect response to: | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
“Respiratory infection resolves on its own” | “Antibiotics are effective against viruses” | “Bacteria that normally live on the skin and in the gut are good for health” | “If I use too much antibiotics, it can result in them losing effectiveness in the long-term” | ||||||||
No. (%) | p-value | No. (%) | p-value | No. (%) | p-value | No. (%) | p-value | No. (%) | p-value | ||
Age in years | 21–34 | 288 (65.9) | 0.804† | 203 (46.3) | 0.042† | 348 (79.5) | 0.493† | 58 (13.2) | <0.001† | 91 (20.8) | 0.318† |
35–49 | 200 (64.9) | 150 (48.7) | 226 (73.4) | 47 (15.3) | 55 (17.9) | ||||||
50–64 | 73 (60.3) | 65 (53.7) | 101 (83.5) | 18 (14.9) | 26 (21.5) | ||||||
≥65 | 33 (71.7) | 28 (59.6) | 40 (85.1) | 22 (46.8) | 15 (31.9) | ||||||
Gender | Male | 285 (64.5) | 0.728* | 200 (45.1) | 0.034* | 359 (81.0) | 0.054* | 84 (19.0) | 0.014* | 96 (21.7) | 0.412* |
Female | 309 (65.7) | 246 (52.2) | 356 (75.6) | 61 (13.0) | 91 (19.3) | ||||||
Ethnicity | Chinese | 388 (61.6) | 0.006* | 297 (47.1) | 0.157* | 486 (77.1) | 0.002* | 94 (14.9) | 0.065* | 118 (18.7) | 0.073* |
Malay | 89 (76.7) | 65 (56.0) | 105 (90.5) | 24 (20.7) | 33 (28.4) | ||||||
Indian | 69 (71.1) | 54 (54.5) | 77 (77.8) | 21 (21.2) | 24 (24.2) | ||||||
Other | 48 (69.6) | 30 (43.5) | 47 (68.1) | 6 (8.7) | 12 (17.4) | ||||||
Highest qualification attained | Pri. or less | 35 (74.5) | 0.028† | 28 (59.6) | <0.001† | 45 (95.7) | <0.001 | 24 (51.1) | <0.001† | 20 (42.6) | <0.001† |
Sec. | 131 (70.1) | 112 (59.9) | 163 (87.2) | 55 (29.4) | 62 (33.2) | ||||||
Post-sec. | 428 (63.2) | 305 (44.9) | 506 (74.5) | 66 (9.7) | 105 (15.5) | ||||||