Volume 24, Issue 106, November - December, 2020

Students’ knowledge and attitude towards rational use of antibiotics

Sadia Shakeel^1,2, Faiza Hayat³, Saifullah Mehsud⁴, Amer Hayat Khan¹, Muhammad Shahid Iqbal^5♦, Jiyauddin Khan⁶

¹School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
²Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan
³Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan
⁴Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Havelian, Abbottabad, Pakistan
⁵Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia
⁶School of Pharmacy, Management & Science University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia; Email: m.javed@psau.edu.sa

ABSTRACT

Background: The development of antibiotic resistance is an emergent global issue and a major threat to community health safety in the 21st century. The threat of a ‘post-antimicrobial age’ where current antimicrobial agents will be ineffective due to increasing levels of resistance has become a concern to all healthcare associations. Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotic utilization among undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, using a pre-validated self-administered questionnaire to collect the needed data from students. All data were checked for completeness and accuracy and then coded for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data on demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and practice towards antibiotic utilization. The Fishers exact tests or Chi-square, Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used wherever appropriate to evaluate the relationship between independent and dependent variables using a p-value < 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: The response rate of the present study was 95.4%. It was found that half of the students had a poor level of knowledge on the proper use of antibiotics; whereas 44.4% had moderate and only 5.6% of students had a good level of knowledge. More than 90% of the students assumed that antibiotics can cure viral infections. The mass population (79%) had a positive attitude towards checking the expiry date and more than 70% follow the instructions stated on the label. More than 50% of the students completed the prescribed antibiotic course. Gender (p=0.002), race (p=0.014), family monthly income (p=0.006) and nationality (p=0.049) were the more significantly associated factors with the knowledge of students. Conclusion: The current findings revealed an inadequate level of knowledge regarding the rational use of antibiotics among students. There is a need for a well-planned, organized, and structured public health campaigns to raise the awareness of the community on the detrimental consequences of overuse and misuse of antibiotics.

Keywords: Rational use of antibiotics; knowledge; attitude; practice; undergraduate students; Malaysia

Medical Science, 2020, 24(106), 4499-4509

PDF