Understanding the social drivers of antibiotic use during COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Implications for reduction of antimicrobial resistance Kalam, A, Shano, S, Khan, MA, Islam, Ariful, Warren, N, Hassan, MM and Davis, M 2021, Understanding the social drivers of antibiotic use during COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Implications for reduction of antimicrobial resistance, PLoS One, vol. 16, no. 12, pp. 1-19, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261368. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Understanding the social drivers of antibiotic use during COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Implications for reduction of antimicrobial resistance Author(s) Kalam, A Shano, S Khan, MA Islam, Ariful orcid.org/0000-0002-9210-3351 Warren, N Hassan, MM Davis, M Journal name PLoS One Volume number 16 Issue number 12 Article ID e0261368 Start page 1 End page 19 Total pages 19 Publisher Public Library of Science Place of publication San Francisco, Calif. Publication date 2021 ISSN 1932-6203 1932-6203 Summary Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health crisis that is now impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known how COVID-19 risks influence people to consume antibiotics, particularly in contexts like Bangladesh where these pharmaceuticals can be purchased without a prescription. This paper identifies the social drivers of antibiotics use among home-based patients who have tested positive with SARS-CoV-2 or have COVID-19-like symptoms. Using qualitative telephone interviews, the research was conducted in two Bangladesh cities with 40 participants who reported that they had tested positive for coronavirus (n = 20) or had COVID-19-like symptoms (n = 20). Our analysis identified five themes in antibiotic use narratives: antibiotics as ‘big’ medicine; managing anxiety; dealing with social repercussions of COVID-19 infection; lack of access to COVID-19 testing and healthcare services; and informal sources of treatment advice. Antibiotics were seen to solve physical and social aspects of COVID-19 infection, with urgent ramifications for AMR in Bangladesh and more general implications for global efforts to mitigate AMR. Language eng DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0261368 HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Free to Read? Yes Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30161221 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Open Access Collection Related Links Link Description Link to full-text (open access)   Connect to Elements publication management system Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO. If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact drosupport@deakin.edu.au. Versions Version Filter Type Wed, 12 Jan 2022, 07:09:38 EST Wed, 12 Jan 2022, 14:16:31 EST Thu, 20 Jan 2022, 13:00:49 EST Thu, 20 Jan 2022, 16:38:57 EST Mon, 21 Mar 2022, 13:07:04 EST Mon, 21 Mar 2022, 15:53:02 EST Mon, 21 Mar 2022, 15:56:20 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 0 times in TR Web of Science Cited 2 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 7 Abstract Views, 1 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Thu, 20 Jan 2022, 13:00:49 EST