Factors associated with self-medication of antibiotics by caregivers in pediatric patients attending the emergency department: a case-control study

Table 1 Association between antibiotic self-medication and demographic characteristics of the caregivers

Characteristic		Cases	%	Controls	%	OR	CI 95%
Characteristic		N=182		N=546		-	-
Occupation	Employee / Independent	138	76	354	65	(Ref)
	Unemployed	29	16	117	22	0.64	0.40 - 0.99
	Student	8	4	32	6	0.64	0.28- 1.40
	Employed	6	3	37	7	0.42	0.17 - 1.00
	Pensioned	1	1	3	1	0.85	0.08 - 8.20
Salary+	Less than a minimum wage	27	15	56	10	1.35	0.81- 2.25
	1-3 times the minimum wage	110	60	309	57	(Ref)
	4 or more times the minimum wage	8	4	33	6	0.68	0.30- 1.50
	No income	37	20	148	27	0.70	0.46- 1.06
Socioeconomic Status^a	Level 1	26	14	73	13	(Ref)
	Level 2	95	52	253	46	1.04	0.63- 1.73
	Level 3	60	33	205	38	0.82	0.48- 1.39
	Level 4	1	1	13	2	0.31	0.05- 1.76
	Level 5	0	0	2	0	0.55	0.26- 11.93
Location of residence	Urban	175	96	523	96	1.09	0.46- 2.60
Location of residence	Rural	7	4	23	4	(Ref)
Healthcare contribution^b	Contributory regime	140	77	417	76	(Ref)
	Subsidized regime	41	23	123	23	0.99	0.66- 1.48
	Special regime	1	1	6	1	0.49	0.06- 4.16
Caregiver interviewed	Mother	138	77	444	83	(Ref)
	Father	29	16	61	11	1.52	0.94 - 2.47
	Grandparent	7	4	16	3	1.41	0.57- 2.49
	Other^c	6	3	13	22	1.48	0.55- 3.98
Mother’s schooling	Up to and including high school	112	62	259	47	(Ref)
Mother’s schooling	Higher	70	38	287	53	0.56	(0.40- 0.79)
Father’s schooling	Up to and including high school	128	70	128	23	(Ref)
Father’s schooling	Higher	54	30	325	60	0.62	(0.43- 0.89)
Caregiver’s level of education^d	Up to and including high school	11	73	26	63	(Ref)
Caregiver’s level of education^d	Higher	4	27	15	37	0.63	(0.17- 2.33)

Ref Reference group for categorical logistic analysis OR and CI95% compared to reference category by simple logistic regression, OR Odds ratio, CI 95% 95% confidence interval. In italics are the reference categories for group comparisons and in bold are statistically significant categories
+ Minimum wage in Colombia is $287 dollars (with representative exchange rate of December 2021)
^aSocioeconomic level: Based on an official strata division (1 through 6), greater number means higher income
^bHealthcare system in Colombia uses a shared-contribution system, the contributory regime group contribute a percentage of their salary, the subsidized regime group do not have resources and are subsidized by the contributory regime group, and the special regime are those who belong to other contribution systems (military or teachers for example)
^cUncle/Aunt, Sibling, Stepmother, Cousin, Neighbor, Guardian
^dOther than mother or father
In italics are the reference categories for group comparisons and in bold are statistically significant categories

ISSN: 1471-2431