Mwape Kunda, Lischen Haoses-Gorases and Marcus Goraseb
Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) have a viral cause in 80% of cases and account for a large proportion of primary care providers' workload as antibiotics are commonly prescribed for these diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate antibiotic prescription to patients with URTI in the Katutura Health Centre in Namibia. A descriptive, quantitative cross-sectional design based on patient prescriptions was used. Data were analyzed using the statistical package Epiinfo version 7.1.1.14. The antibiotic prescription rate for patients with URTI in the Katutura Health Centre (KHC) was 78% (95% CI, 74%–82%). Further bivariate analyses of antibiotic prescription (response variable) and disease, age, gender and occupation (exposure variables) showed that age and disease were significantly associated with antibiotic prescription (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the Department of Health and Human Services needs to develop or adopt international strategies that have been proven effective in reducing antibiotic prescription in URTIs.