Complex Determinants Influencing Inappropriate Antibiotic Use - A Systematic Review

Antibiotic medicine is a kind of antimicrobial substance used to fight against the bacteria entered to the human body and hence is considered as a most important category of antibacterial agents to fight against bacterial infections either by killing them or inhibiting their growth. Antibiotic medications are widely used both for preventing and curing infections in human beings, animals, and agricultural plants but are not effective against viral infections, such as the common cold, flu, coughs, sore throats, etc. Even though antibiotics found their importance in fighting against bacterial infections, inappropriate use of them in humans, animals, and agricultural plants has considered as one of the reasons for developing antimicrobial resistance in them and which has several negative effects from different stakeholders’ points of view. In this paper, through a systematic review, we made an attempt to study the determinant issues and complex affecting factors which influence the inappropriate antibiotic use and its consequences in controlling bacterial infections. The study focus on identifying and analyzing misuse of antibiotics including challenges involved in the inappropriate use of Antibiotics, the determinant factors influencing the inappropriate use of antibiotics through a systematic review, predict the determinant factors affecting the process of inappropriate use of antibiotics in an ideal situation which is the final goal of antibiotics research, developing a model by identifying the determinant factors which affects the decision of inappropriate use of antibiotics in society by various stakeholders. It also includes identifying the research gap which is the difference between current status and future anticipated optimistic ideal state and to develop research agendas based on identified research gap on inappropriate use of antibiotics and its effect on human health. Keywords: Antibiotics, Inappropriate use, Humans and agriculture, Research agenda, Research gap, Antimicrobial resistance