Are threat perceptions associated with patient adherence to antibiotics? Insights from a survey regarding antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance among the Singapore public

Public health strategies to improve patient adherence to antibiotics rely mostly on raising awareness of the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and improving knowledge about antibiotics. We aimed to evaluate how adherence to antibiotics relates to knowledge and the threat perceptions proposed by the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT).

In Singapore, patient adherence to antibiotics appear to be driven by the perceived costs of visiting a doctor to obtain antibiotics, followed by perceptions of AMR as a threat and to a lesser extent, knowledge about antibiotics. Public health strategies to mitigate antibiotic misuse should consider these patient barriers to medical care.