Table 2:
Change in Likelihood of Requesting Antibiotics for URI-Like Symptoms After Reading Each Statement About Potential Harm of Non-Indicated Antibiotics
| Statement | Delta Mean Likelihood (Standard Deviation) |
Median (Interquartile range) |
Statement Category |
Discusses Antibiotic Resistance? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Taking antibiotics can hurt your body's natural defenses. This makes it easier for you to get another infection"[1] [9]. | −2.56 (2.14) | −3 (−5 to −1) | Individual | No |
| "Antibiotics can change how babies grow inside pregnant women" [10] [11] | −2.54 (2.28) | −3 (−5 to 0) | Others close to you | No |
| "By changing your normal gut bacteria, antibiotics can cause allergies, asthma, and stomach problems" [10] [12] [13]. | −2.54 (2.21) | −3 (−5 to −1) | Individual | No |
| "Antibiotics can make you more likely to be obese (fat)" [14] | −2.51 (2.28) | −3 (−5 to 0) | Individual | No |
| "Pregnant women who take antibiotics are more likely to have babies with asthma" [11]. | −2.50 (2.33) | −3 (−5 to 0) | Others close to you | No |
| "Antibiotics can cause bad bacteria to overgrow in your gut. This can cause diarrhea and belly pain" [15] [12]. | −2.47 (2.17) | −3 (−5 to −1) | Individual | No |
| "In the future, antibiotic resistance will cause more deaths than cancer and diabetes combined” [6] | −2.42 (2.23) | −3 (−5 to 0) | Society | Yes |
| "Resistant bacteria can still be found in your gut four years after taking antibiotics" [16] | −2.30 (2.25) | −3 (−4 to 0) | Individual | Yes |
| "A single dose of antibiotics makes the bacteria in your body more resistant to treatment" [17] | −2.12 (2.26) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Individual | Yes |
| "Antibiotics kill your normal gut bacteria. This can cause bad bacteria to overgrow" [14] | −1.99 (2.35) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Individual | No |
| "Antibiotic resistant bacteria cause over two million illnesses and twenty-three thousand deaths in the U.S. each year" [9] | −1.96 (2.45) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Society | Yes |
| "Each antibiotic resistant infection costs up to $30,000 more to treat than other infections" [18] [19] [6]. | −1.93 (2.30) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Society | Yes |
| "Taking antibiotics can cause you to get a yeast infection" [20]. | −1.90 (2.46) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Individual | No |
| "Resistant bacteria can spread between people" [1] [9]. | −1.85 (2.66) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Others close to you | Yes |
| "Antibiotics are the most common cause of Emergency Room visits for drug reactions in children" [9]. | −1.83 (2.33) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Others close to you | No |
| "One in five people who take an antibiotic in a hospital will have a side effect" [1]. | −1.72 (2.25) | −2 (−4 to 0) | Society | No |
| "In some countries like India, people in hospitals have infections so resistant that antibiotics can't treat them" [21] | −1.40 (2.60) | −1 (−4 to 0) | Society | Yes |
| "Antibiotic resistance costs the U.S. between $20-35 billion each year" [18] [9]. | −1.35 (2.28) | −1 (−3 to 0) | Society | Yes |
For the mean delta displayed, a “−5” meant the statement made the patient much less likely to request antibiotics, “0” meant the statement did not change their likelihood, and “5” would mean the statement made them much more likely to request antibiotics.