Pet Owners’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Antibiotic Practices: Comparison Between Contexts of Self and Pet
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results
2.1. Baseline Characteristics
2.2. Knowledge of Antibiotic Use
2.3. Knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance
2.4. Antibiotic Practices
3. Discussion
4. Methods
4.1. Study Design and Settings
4.2. Survey Instrument
4.3. Data Analysis
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Demographics | Total (N = 1080) | Own Dogs (N = 754) | Do Not Own Dogs (N = 326) |
---|---|---|---|
Age group, in years, N(%) | |||
21–34 | 399 (36.9) | 262 (34.8) | 137 (42.0) |
35–49 | 382 (35.4) | 264 (35.0) | 118 (36.2) |
50 and above | 299 (27.7) | 228 (30.2) | 71 (21.8) |
Gender, N(%) | |||
Male | 390 (36.1) | 280 (37.1) | 110 (33.7) |
Female | 690 (63.9) | 474 (62.9) | 216 (66.3) |
Ethnicity, N(%) | |||
Chinese | 798 (73.9) | 621 (82.4) | 177 (54.3) |
Malay | 91 (8.4) | 3 (0.4) | 88 (27.0) |
Indian | 70 (6.5) | 55 (7.3) | 15 (4.6) |
Others | 121 (11.2) | 75 (10.0) | 46 (14.1) |
Highest education level, N(%) | |||
Lower educated (GCE-A level & below) | 141 (13.1) | 99 (13.1) | 42 (12.9) |
Higher educated (Diploma & above) | 939 (86.9) | 655 (86.9) | 284 (87.1) |
Marital status, N(%) | |||
Married | 607 (56.2) | 426 (56.5) | 181 (55.5) |
Never married/widowed/divorced/separated | 473 (43.8) | 328 (43.5) | 145 (44.5) |
Housing type, N(%) | |||
1- to 4-room HDB apartments | 378 (35.0) | 226 (30) | 152 (46.6) |
5-room HDB; Privately-owned apartments, condominiums, and houses | 702 (65.0) | 528 (70) | 174 (53.4) |
Employment status, N(%) | |||
Currently working | 825 (76.4) | 574 (76.1) | 251 (77.0) |
Retired/not working | 255 (23.6) | 180 (23.9) | 75 (23.0) |
Occupation, N(%) | |||
Not related to human or animal health | 833 (77.1) | 590 (78.3) | 243 (74.5) |
Related to human or animal health | 247 (22.9) | 164 (21.8) | 83 (25.5) |
Duration of pet ownership, N(%) | |||
≤10 years | 605 (56.0) | 393 (52.1) | 212 (65.0) |
>10 years | 475 (44.0) | 361 (47.9) | 114 (35.0) |
Knowledge of antibiotic use for pets, N(%) | |||
Not poor | 580 (53.7) | 434 (57.6) | 146 (44.8) |
Poor | 500 (46.3) | 320 (42.4) | 180 (55.2) |
Knowledge of AMR in pets, N(%) | |||
Not poor | 355 (32.9) | 258 (34.2) | 97 (29.8) |
Poor | 725 (67.1) | 496 (65.8) | 229 (70.3) |
Use of antibiotics for pets, N(%) | |||
Appropriate | 714 (66.1) | 493 (65.4) | 221 (67.8) |
Inappropriate | 366 (33.9) | 261 (34.6) | 105 (32.2) |
Knowledge of antibiotic use for self, N(%) | |||
Not poor | 722 (66.9) | 521 (69.1) | 201 (61.7) |
Poor | 358 (33.2) | 233 (30.9) | 125 (38.3) |
Knowledge of AMR in humans, N(%) | |||
Not poor | 379 (35.1) | 269 (35.7) | 110 (33.7) |
Poor | 701 (64.9) | 485 (64.3) | 216 (66.3) |
Use of antibiotics for self, N(%) | |||
Appropriate | 826 (76.5) | 579 (76.8) | 247 (75.8) |
Inappropriate | 254 (23.5) | 175 (23.2) | 79 (24.2) |
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Aithal, S.; Guo, H.; Teo, B.H.; Chua, T.; Hildon, Z.J.-L.; Chow, A. Pet Owners’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Antibiotic Practices: Comparison Between Contexts of Self and Pet. Antibiotics 2025, 14, 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020158
Aithal S, Guo H, Teo BH, Chua T, Hildon ZJ-L, Chow A. Pet Owners’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Antibiotic Practices: Comparison Between Contexts of Self and Pet. Antibiotics. 2025; 14(2):158. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020158
Chicago/Turabian StyleAithal, Seema, Huiling Guo, Boon Han Teo, Timothy Chua, Zoe Jane-Lara Hildon, and Angela Chow. 2025. "Pet Owners’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Antibiotic Practices: Comparison Between Contexts of Self and Pet" Antibiotics 14, no. 2: 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020158
APA StyleAithal, S., Guo, H., Teo, B. H., Chua, T., Hildon, Z. J.-L., & Chow, A. (2025). Pet Owners’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Antibiotic Practices: Comparison Between Contexts of Self and Pet. Antibiotics, 14(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14020158