Implications of Study Findings

Hypotheses and Research Question 

Hypotheses 

H 0 – Cases of misuse of antibiotics have been on the rise contributing to an increase in cases of antibiotics resistance. 

H 1 – Antibiotics use cannot be associated with the high number of cases of antibiotics resistance, as the use of antibiotics is controlled. 

The study sought to build on the hypothesis touching on the misuse of antibiotics, which has been considered as a serious issue in the health care industry today. The health care sector has been facing a key challenge in dealing with the problem of antibiotics resistance, which has been driven by the fact that people have easy access to antibiotics. Consequently, this means that the people find it much easier to self-medicate without having to seek medical attention even when it is essential, instead, opting to use antibiotics. The hypothesis was developed from the fact that access to antibiotics is not limited or controlled in any manner; thus, paving the way for misuse of this type of medication.

Research Question 

Does easy access to antibiotics serve as one of the factors contributing to an increase in misuse of antibiotics; thus, paving the way for antibiotics resistance? 

The question sought to reflect on the continued usage of antibiotics with the focus being towards examining whether indeed the easy access to antibiotics can be considered as a factor that has contributed to the challenge of antibiotics misuse. On the other hand, the research question also seeks to create a link between misuse of antibiotics and antibiotics resistance. Specifically, the question was developed with the sole intention of trying to understand how misuse of antibiotics is likely to create resistance within the human body when focusing on the use of antibiotics.

Variables 

The following are the variables used as part of the study:

Antibiotics Misuse: Antibiotics misuse refers to the excessive use of antibiotics without due consideration of the health implications that the continued use would have on the population. The study focused on the variable of antibiotics misuse with the focus being towards understanding the extent to which antibiotics have been misused. In this variable, the focus was on examining the extent to which the sample population selected for the study was misusing antibiotics.

Antibiotics Resistance: Antibiotics resistance refers to the ability for the body to withstand the intended effects of antibiotics, which affects their ability to achieve the expected outcomes in dealing with infections. Each time one uses antibiotics, he or she is likely to suffer from some of the notable side effects, which would contribute to the possibility of antibiotics resistance.

Survey 

The survey used in the collection of data involved a number of questions that focused on creating an understanding concerning the issue of misuse of antibiotics within the society. The use of survey helped in the collection of firsthand information from the participants considering they engaged in answering the survey questions on a personal level based on their individual experience concerning the use of antibiotics. Although the use of survey method is effective in the collection of reliable data, there are issue associated with the data collection method. The first major issue encountered in the process of administering surveys to the participants entails the response time, where some of the participants used a lot of time to answer the survey questions thus leading to delays. The second issue concerned the provision of unreliable information, considering a situation where the participant would answer anything just for the purpose of filling the questions.

Results 

The survey questions focused on examining the use of antibiotics among different people in the society based on different situations. In that case, questions begun by identifying whether the participants had used antibiotics in their lives. The results of the first questions indicated that all the participants engaging in the study had engaged in the use of antibiotics at some point in their lives. On the questions regarding the frequent use of antibiotics, the results from the participants indicated that out of 30, 10 participants had engaged in the use of antibiotics with the past one month, while 15 of the participants had consumed antibiotics within 12months. Out of the participants that had consumed antibiotics within the past 12 months at least half of them had used the antibiotics on a single occasion while the other half had used the antibiotic on two occasions.

Considering the continuous usage of antibiotics among the participants engaging in the study, the survey questions focused on addressing the issue of resistance to the antibiotic. In the question addressing the issue of resistance, 24 respondents answered yes to the question asking whether they had encountered antibiotic resistance at some point in their lives. 6 respondents maintained that they had never experienced any cases involving antibiotic resistance at any point in their life and in their history of using antibiotics. On the question addressing the issue of prescription of the drugs, majority of the respondents maintained that they did not get appropriate prescription from a doctor considering that majority engaged in over the counter purchases at the pharmaceuticals. Majority of the respondents in the survey maintained that lack of proper policies regarding the use of the drugs has contributed to the misuse of the antibiotics in the society.

Discussion of the Results 

Based on the results from the survey, it is evident that majority of people in the society engage in the misuse of antibiotics considering that majority of people do not obtain the required prescriptions from relevant authorities. In that case, majority of people engaging in the misuse of the drugs develop resistance owing to the continuous use of the antibiotics. The results indicated that lack of adequate knowledge regarding the implications of using the antibiotics without proper prescription from the doctor has contributed to the increase in the usage of the drug. Additionally, lack of proper measure to regulate the use of antibiotics acts as a direct contributor to the misuse of the drug.

The results point to the fact that antibiotics resistance has been brought about as a direct impact to easy access to antibiotics. From the survey results, what is clear is that a majority of the participants indicated that they were able to access antibiotics from chemists and pharmacies. That means that it becomes much easier for them to actually take antibiotics in the event that they need the same without having to seek any form of medical advice. The outcome of the continued intake of antibiotics is that most of the people contribute to resistance within their body system. Ultimately, their body system is not able to use antibiotics as may be expected when dealing with infections; thus, exposing the individuals to a high likelihood of serious health challenges resulting from bacterial infections.

Null Hypothesis 

From the results, what is clear is that the health care sector has been facing a key challenge towards dealing with the issue of antibiotics resistance. The issue has been driven by the fact that the use of antibiotics is not controlled in any way; thus, paving the way for misuse of these drugs. From this conclusion, it can be argued that indeed the null hypothesis was rejected.

The first key implication of this study is that it seeks to create a discussion surrounding access to antibiotics and the impacts that this is having on the health care industry. The study has shown that unrestricted access to antibiotics serves as a contributing factor to misuse of antibiotics considering that it creates an avenue through which people work towards self-medication. Consequently, this means that the study will help towards raising the debate on the importance of ensuring that policies have been put in place towards dealing with the issue of misuse of antibiotics.

The second implication of this study is that it will help towards understanding the problem of antibiotics resistance from the perspective of self-medication. One of the key challenges that professionals within the health care sector have been experiencing is that they find it hard towards defining the problem on antibiotics resistance based on risk factors. The study has provided a clear path focusing on easy access to antibiotics as a contributor to the challenge on antibiotics resistance. Consequently, that means health care professionals would be in a better position of having to push for changes in drug laws and policies to ensure that usage of antibiotics is restricted.