Knowledge, attitude and practices of antibiotic usage among university students from Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Antimicrobial resistance has become a serious global problem. A potential post-antibiotic era is threatening present and future medical advances. In Pakistan, the usage of antibiotic is unnecessarily high and due to over exposure to these drugs, bacteria are developing resistance against these drugs. It is necessary to improve public awareness about the rational use of antibiotics in order to bring a change in consumer’s behaviour. Therefore, present study was undertaken to assess the existing knowledge, attitude and practices related to antibiotic usage among university students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among university students from Karachi, Pakistan during May-June 2018. 200 students were approached to participate in the study of which 159 agreed to participate (males: 70, females: 89). Pretested questionnaire was distributed to the study subjects and the collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.Results: Substantial number of (33% and 50%) participants were unaware about the differences in antibiotic: anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotic: antipyretics respectively. 29% of the participants thought it is right to stop antibiotics only based on symptomatic improvement. Thirty nine percent and eighty three percent participants believed that antibiotics should always be prescribed to treat flu like symptoms and pneumonia respectively.Conclusions: Participants demonstrated average knowledge about antibiotics. Similarly, their attitude and practice toward antibiotic use was associated with misconceptions. An educational intervention is necessary to make them aware about rational use of antibiotics.

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Knowledge, attitude and practices of antibiotic usage among students from Mumbai University

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences ◽

10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20182270 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (6) ◽

pp. 1908 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dnyanesh Limaye ◽

Sanika Naware ◽

Priyanka Bare ◽

Shreya Dalvi ◽

Ketaki Dhurve ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Awareness ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Antibiotic Usage ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Infectious Disease Control ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitude And Practice ◽

Inflammatory Drugs ◽

High Level

Background: Discovery of antibiotics have helped to manage the devastating diseases. Presently, the antibiotic era is threatened by the emergence of high level of antibiotic resistance of important pathogens. Misuse of antibiotics poses a serious risk to infectious disease control. It is necessary to improve public awareness to bring a change in the behavior of consumers. Therefore, present study was undertaken to assess the existing knowledge, attitude and practices related to antibiotic usage among university students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among students from Mumbai University, India during May-June 2017. 300 students were approached to participate in the study of which 250 agreed to participate (males: 117; females: 133). Pretested questionnaire was distributed and collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 23.Results: Substantial number (33% and 40%) participants were unaware about the differences in antibiotic-anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotic-antipyretics respectively. 28% of the participants thought it is right to stop antibiotics only based on symptoms improvement. Sixty eight percent and seventy nine percent participants believed that antibiotics should always be prescribed to treat flu like symptoms and pneumonia respectively.Conclusions: Participants demonstrated poor knowledge about antibiotics. Similarly, their attitude and practice toward antibiotic use was associated with misconceptions. An educational intervention can be introduced to make them aware about rational antibiotic practices.

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Assessing Knowledge and Perception Regarding Antimicrobial Stewardship and Antimicrobial Resistance in University Students of Pakistan: Findings and Implications

Antibiotics ◽

10.3390/antibiotics10070866 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 866

Author(s):

Iltaf Hussain ◽

Nisa Yousaf ◽

Sana Haider ◽

Pervisha Jalil ◽

Muhammad Usman Saleem ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

University Students ◽

Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Dosing Regimen ◽

Student Knowledge ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Administered Questionnaire

The irrational use of antimicrobials has enormously contributed to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally and especially in the developing world. To assess the knowledge and perception regarding AMR and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in university students enrolled in pharmacy, veterinary, and biology programs by using an online self-administered questionnaire. The Chi-square and Fisher exact tests (where applicable) were performed to assess the association of the demographics with the students’ knowledge and perception regarding AMR and AMS. A total of 496 students completed the questionnaire, among which, 85.7% of the participants were familiar with the term AMR and 79.4% of the participants correctly identified a poorly designed dosing regimen as a contributing factor towards AMR. The majority of participants (57.9%) were familiar with the term AMS and 86.5% were aware of the aim of AMS. The participants showed good knowledge regarding AMR and AMS, but to further improve student knowledge and perception of AMS and AMR, it is suggested that dedicated modules on antibiotic use and AMS should be incorporated into the curricula of these undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

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Public awareness regarding the use and resistance of antibiotics: A cross-sectional study among Nepalese adults in Kathmandu valley

Journal of Kathmandu Medical College ◽

10.3126/jkmc.v6i3.19823 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 96-101

Author(s):

Satish Kumar Deo ◽

Sita Rijal ◽

Tulza K.C

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Study Finding ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Interview Method ◽

Drug Classes

Background: Antibiotics are considered to be among the most commonly sold drug classes globally. Antibiotic resistance is a recognized public health issue at the local, national and global levels.Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify awareness of general public regarding the use and resistance of antibiotics.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Kathmandu in November 2016 using a quantitative questionnaire among 120 adult people aged 20–60 years. Convenience sampling method was used and information on use of antibiotics and resistance was obtained using semi-structured questionnaire through interview method. Descriptive statistics was done to describe the respondent’s level of awareness regarding use of antibiotics and resistance.Results: Among the total respondents, majority had incorrect awareness as regards to action, reasons for using antibiotics, possible side effects of the antibiotic. Seventy one percent of the respondents had not heard about antibiotic resistance. The study finding showed that about 66.7% of the participants had inadequate awareness towards use and resistance of antibiotics.Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that the overall awareness on antibiotic use and resistance is poorly understood among our respondents. This information can be utilized in future educational and antibiotic resistance awareness raising campaigns.

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An Audit of Rational Use of Antibiotics in a Tertiary Hospital

Delta Medical College Journal ◽

10.3329/dmcj.v2i2.20526 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 64-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tanzima Begum ◽

Md Ismail Khan ◽

Shamima Kawser ◽

Md Ehsanul Huq ◽

Nadira Majid ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tertiary Care Hospital ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Care Hospital ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical College ◽

Number Of Patients ◽

Rational Use Of Antibiotics

Background: Drug can cure ailment when used rationally on the other hand they may become harmful or even may threaten a life when used irrationally. Absence of guidelines for antibiotic use, protocols for rational therapeutics and infection control committees, have led to overuse and misuse of antimicrobials even in different specialized units in hospitals. Objective: The study has been designed to get a picture of use of antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital of Bangladesh. Materials and method: Cross sectional study was conducted in the department of Medicine of Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh, for 3 months from 1st January 2009 to 31st March 2009. Admitted patients of Medicine unit-1 who got antibiotics were included in the study. Total number of patients was 1563. Results: Five hundred out of 1563 patients were prescribed antibiotics (38%). Out of 500 prescriptions, 68(14%) prescriptions were found irrational. Conclusion: Continuous surveillance should be carried out to reduce the irrational use of antibiotics. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/dmcj.v2i2.20526 Delta Med Col J. Jul 2014; 2(2): 64-67

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Study on knowledge, attitude and practices with respect to antibiotic use among medical students

International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology ◽

10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20192662 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 1628

Author(s):

Bhavika D. ◽

A. Naga Teja Pavani ◽

G. Meghavani ◽

Aditya Jillella ◽

Sameer Uz Zaman

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Medical Students ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Educational Strategies ◽

Key Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Response Options ◽

Rational Use ◽

Global Problem ◽

Rational Use Of Antibiotics

Background: Antibiotic resistance has emerged as a serious global problem. Irrational prescribing of antibiotics is one of the key factors responsible for the development of antibiotic resistance. As today’s medical students will be the future prescribers their awareness regarding antibiotic resistance and rational prescribing of antibiotics is very much important. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices of the medical students towards antibiotic use.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted involving the medical students from all the semesters. A predesigned questionnaire was used to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices of the respondents. The response options were ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for some questions, and a 5 point Likert scale used to assess some questions. The data was analyzed using MS office Excel.Results: A total of 457 fully completed questionnaires from the respondents were evaluated. Majority of the respondents (70%) were females, and 91% of the respondents were aware of antibiotic resistance as a global problem. On analysis of score of questions assessing knowledge, 91% of respondents had attained a score in the range of 5-7. Majority (83%) of the respondents used antibiotics only on doctor’s prescription and 74% of the respondents had completed the prescribed course.Conclusions: The present study gives an insight on the knowledge, attitude and practices of medical students on antibiotic use, and can be used as a tool to plan educational strategies to improve the knowledge of the students regarding rational use of antibiotics.

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Self-medication practices and rational drug use habits among university students: a cross-sectional study from Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.3990 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e3990 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ramazan Azim Okyay ◽

Ayşegül Erdoğan

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

University Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Rational Use ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Non Governmental Organizations

BackgroundSelf-medication refers to the use of medicines to treat self-diagnosed diseases without consulting any healthcare professionals. Irrational drug use and self-medication have serious negative consequences both on health and economy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the habits related to rational use of drugs (RUD) and to estimate the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Kahramanmaraş. From May 2017 to June 2017 a total of 960 students filled a “Rational Use of Drugs Questionnaire”.ResultsThe prevalence of practicing self-medication in students was 63.4%. The most common medicines that the students had consumed without prescription were analgesics by 39.5%, antibiotics by 36.9% and cold remedies by 24.0%. The rate of students who declared that they were familiar with RUD and “rational use of antibiotics” (RUA) was 45.9%. Reading/checking the instructions in the prospectus (OR = 1.529, 95% CI [1.176–1.990]), understanding the context of the prospectus (OR = 1.893, 95% CI [1.387–2.584]), compliance with the duration of antibiotic treatment (OR = 1.597, 95% CI [1.231–2.071]) and consulting a physician in case of a side effect (OR = 1.350, 95% CI [1.037–1.757]) were significantly higher among students who were familiar with RUD as compared to who were not.DiscussionSince the awareness of RUD among university students was found to be inadequate, it has critical importance to hold educational activities with the cooperation of physicians, health organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations and media to avoid negative consequences of irrational drug use and self-medication.

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Antibiotic use in Moshi Urban: A cross-sectional Study of Knowledge and Practices among Caretakers of Children in Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Rwanda Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences ◽

10.4314/rjmhs.v4i3.4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 347-356

Author(s):

Benedicto J Petro ◽

Sixbert Isdory Mkumbaye ◽

Rukia Rajab Bakar ◽

Nassra Is-hak Yussuf ◽

Pius G. Horumpende ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Good Knowledge ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Self Medication ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Media Campaigns ◽

Antibiotics Use ◽

Sick Children ◽

Rational Use Of Antibiotics

IntroductionAntibiotics are commonly accessed and used for the management of illness in children without a prescription. We investigated the caretaker’s knowledge and practices on antibiotics and antibiotics use to their children.MethodThis was the hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted from April to July 2017 in three facilities located in Moshi Municipality. A convenience sampling was employed to select for caretakers with their sick children at KCMC, Mawenzi hospital, and Longuo dispensary. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 224 caretakers who had visited health facilities with their children seeking health care.ResultsThe majority (87.9%, 197/224) of all interviewed caretakers had good knowledge of the use of antibiotics. Irrespective of knowing that it is not safe to self-medicate a child with any antibiotics (95.1%, 213/224), most (61.6%, 138/224) caretakers practiced self-medication with the medicines. Having two children (aOR = 7.75, 95% CI: 1.89-31.67) and having three children (aOR=7.23, 95%CI: 1.08-48.51) were significantly associated with good knowledge of antibiotics.ConclusionThis study has revealed that caretakers in Moshi had a good knowledge of antibiotic use. However, despite such good knowledge, malpractices were observed. We call upon the use of media campaigns to advocate for the importance of the rational use of antibiotics and its effect on human health and the risk of antimicrobial resistance development.Rwanda J Med Health Sci 2021;4(3):347-356

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Public knowledge, attitudes and practices related to antibiotic use and resistance in Singapore: a cross-sectional population survey

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048157 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. e048157

Author(s):

Jane M Lim ◽

Minh Cam Duong ◽

Alex R Cook ◽

Li Yang Hsu ◽

Clarence C Tam

Keyword(s):

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Action Plan ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Primary Care Doctor ◽

Public Knowledge ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

ObjectivesThe WHO’s Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) includes increasing overall public awareness of appropriate antibiotic use and resistance as a key priority area. We aimed to measure public knowledge, attitudes and practices of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in Singapore, as well as their healthcare-seeking behaviours relating to respiratory illnesses, providing baseline data against which to measure the progress of future interventions.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingThe general population in Singapore.ParticipantsBetween May and June 2019, we conducted a survey via an online panel in Singapore with 706 respondents.ResultsOur findings indicated common misconceptions surrounding antibiotic effectiveness and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance—most participants thought that resistance occurs when our bodies become resistant to antibiotics (62.5%) or when antibiotics become less powerful (48.5%). In multivariable analyses, better knowledge scores were associated with more favourable antibiotic attitudes (β=0.29; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.37). In addition, more favourable attitude scores were associated with lower odds of both expecting (OR: 0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.99) and being prescribed antibiotics by a primary care doctor (OR: 0.76, 95% CI 0.63 to 0.90).ConclusionsThis study presents important information about population perceptions towards antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in Singapore. Results from this study emphasise the importance of effective public communication strategies to promote responsible antibiotic use locally and should be used to inform future implementation of programmes and activities as laid out in Singapore’s National Strategic Action Plan on AMR.

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Acceptability of the COVID-19 Vaccine and Its Determinants among University Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9090943 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 943

Author(s):

Mohammed J. Almalki ◽

Amani A. Alotaibi ◽

Salman H. Alabdali ◽

Ayman A. Zaalah ◽

Mohsen W. Maghfuri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Saudi Arabia ◽

University Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Vaccine Hesitancy ◽

Future Research ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Final Sample ◽

To Receive

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is a significant threat to the efforts that have been taken to combat the pandemic. This study assessed the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine among university students in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional online survey using a Google Form was conducted between 2 April and 23 April 2021. A snowball technique was used to recruit participants for this study. The final sample consisted of 407 participants. More than one-third of the participants (36.1%) had received the COVID-19 vaccine, and 13.3% had registered to receive the vaccine. Of the participants who were not yet vaccinated (n = 260), 90.4% indicated that they would like to be vaccinated when given the opportunity. Of the unvaccinated participants, 82.3% trusted the COVID-19 vaccines that had been provided in Saudi Arabia. The most reported reasons for the participants’ acceptance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine included preventive purposes (95.8%), a belief in the safety of the vaccines (84.3%), and the availability of public awareness information regarding the vaccines (77.3%). A small portion of participants (6.1%) were refusing to receive the vaccine due to the potential long-term side effects (92.0%) and expedited vaccine trials (80.0%). Acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine was strongly associated with participants who regularly received the flu vaccine (p < 0.05). All other demographic variables were not statistically associated with the acceptability of the COVID-19 vaccine. In conclusion, it would be appropriate for universities to launch peer programs to urge reluctant students to receive the vaccine voluntarily. In terms of further research, it is valuable to follow up with unvaccinated participants to investigate if they received the vaccine since the data were collected, and their reasons for doing so. This research would reveal changes toward vaccine acceptability over time and any related determinants. Future research should consider students from non-Arabic speaking backgrounds.

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The landscape of antibiotic usage among COVID-19 patients in the early phase of pandemic: a Malaysian national perspective

Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice ◽

10.1186/s40545-022-00404-4 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Izzati-Nadhirah Mohamad ◽

Calvin Ke-Wen Wong ◽

Chii-Chii Chew ◽

E-Li Leong ◽

Biing-Horng Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clavulanic Acid ◽

Early Phase ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Blood Parameters ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Antibiotic Usage ◽

Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Severe Stage ◽

Amoxicillin Clavulanic Acid

Abstract Background During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, antibiotic usage among COVID-19 patients was noted to be high in many countries. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibiotic usage and factors affecting antibiotic usage among COVID-19 patients during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that involved reviewing medical records of COVID-19 Malaysian patients aged 12 and above who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and received treatment in 18 COVID-19 hospitals from February to April 2020. A minimum sample of 375 patients was required. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with antibiotic usage. Variables with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results A total of 4043 cases were included for analysis. The majority of the patients (87.6%) were non-smokers, male (65.0%), and had at least one comorbidity (37.0%). The median age was 35 years (IQR: 38). The prevalence of antibiotic usage was 17.1%, with 5.5% of them being prescribed with two or more types of antibiotics. The most frequent antibiotics prescribed were amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (37.8%), ceftriaxone (12.3%), piperacillin/tazobactam (13.3%), azithromycin (8.3%), and meropenem (7.0%). Male patients (adjusted OR 1.53), who had a comorbidity (adjusted OR 1.36), associated with more severe stage of COVID-19 (adjusted OR 6.50–37.06), out-of-normal range inflammatory blood parameters for neutrophils, lymphocytes, and C-reactive protein (adjusted OR 2.04–3.93), corticosteroid use (adjusted OR 3.05), and ICU/HDU admission (adjusted OR 2.73) had higher odds of antibiotic use. Conclusions The prevalence of antibiotic usage in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic was low, with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid as the most common antibiotic of choice. The study showed that clinicians rationalized antibiotic usage based on clinical assessment, supported by relevant laboratory parameters.

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