Experience with Respiratory Tract Infections, Preference for and Knowledge about Antibiotics, and Willingness to Have Blood Tests
| No. of doctor visits for a cough/cold in past 12 months (N = 706) | |
| 0 | 467 (66.1) |
| 1 | 103 (14.6) |
| ≥2 | 136 (19.3) |
| No. of times antibiotics were given for cough/cold during doctor visit (N = 231) | |
| 0 | 87 (36.0) |
| 1 | 86 (35.5) |
| ≥2 | 69 (28.5) |
| Preferences for antibiotics (N = 692) | |
| I prefer to take antibiotics for a cough or cold, even if my doctor thinks antibiotics may not help me. | 88 (12.7) |
| I prefer to avoid taking antibiotics, but I will take antibiotics if my doctor thinks they will help my cough or cold. | 604 (87.3) |
| Knowledge of antibiotics (N = 708)* | |
| Viruses | 68 (9.6) |
| Bacteria† | 268 (37.9) |
| Viruses and bacteria | 178 (25.1) |
| Don't know | 194 (27.4) |
| Willingness to undergo arm blood draw (N = 700) | |
| Unwilling | 153 (21.9) |
| Neutral | 105 (15.0) |
| Willing | 442 (63.1) |
| Willingness to undergo fingerstick test (N = 677)‡ | |
| Unwilling | 102 (15.1) |
| Neutral | 40 (5.9) |
| Willing | 535 (79.0) |
Data are n (%).
↵* Antibiotic knowledge was measured by a subject's response to the question, “I understand that antibiotics are best for treating coughs and colds that are caused by (viruses, bacteria, viruses/bacteria, don't know).”
↵† Correct answer.
↵‡ Responses from 60 subjects who did not answer the question about willingness to have a fingerstick test are included in the overall results but not in the analyses of associations with this outcome.