Data collection techniques and procedure

The structured questionnaires were adapted from various studies on a similar topic. It contains socio-demographic characteristics (sex, educational status, age, marital status, occupation, monthly income, religion, family size), data about antibiotic non-adherence, reasons for antibiotic non-adherence, substance misuse (chat chewing, smoking, and alcohol), any chronic illness, any discomfort related to the drug, relationship with health practitioner, social support, and getting prescription information from pharmacist.^{8,33,37,41,42} The knowledge and attitude toward antibiotic use were assessed using a questioner with eight and seven item questions, respectively.^35,43 To achieve consistency, the data collection tools were translated into the local language and then back into English. To collect the data, four data collectors (pharmacy students) and two health extension workers were participated. The interviews were conducted in the homes of study participants, and data collectors went from house to house in each of the selected kebeles until the sample size was reached. Participants were informed about the study’s purpose, the potential risks and benefits of participating, the study’s confidentiality, and their right to refuse to participate or withdraw from the study at any time before data collection began. Following that, each participant provided informed consent, and data were collected via an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Every day, the supervisor and investigators double-checked the questionnaire for completeness. The data were gathered between 9 April 2021 and 14 May 2021.