Dataset Information

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance among final year undergraduate medical and pharmacy students at three universities in East Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Proper measures to combat antimicrobial resistance development and spread in Sub Saharan Africa are very crucial bearing in mind the projected burden of antimicrobial resistance which is expected to be increase by 2050. Training of medical doctor and pharmacy students in antimicrobial stewardship is vital to combat antimicrobial resistance. This study was designed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and perception of final year medical and pharmacy students on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance at three universities in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Methodology

A cross-sectional survey was carried out among final year undergraduate medical and pharmacy students at three universities in East Africa. A Self-administered questionnaire was developed which included dichotomous questions and questions using a 4-point Likert scale. The questions were based on knowledge and attitude about antibiotics, and preparedness to use antibiotics in clinical scenarios. Data were analyzed using STATA version 16 following the objective of the study.

Results

Three hundred and twenty-eight final year students participated in the survey from MUK 75, MKU 75 and CUHAS 178. Slightly majority of participants were male 192(58.5%) and their median age was 25 [23 - 27] years. In general, 36.6% (120/328) of students had good overall total knowledge. More students at MUK had good knowledge compared to MKU, and CUHAS (72% vs, 40% vs. 20.2%; p<0.001). The mean scores for overall good total knowledge, general knowledge about antibiotics, knowledge about antibiotic resistance, and knowledge about antibiotic use in clinical scenarios were 58% (CI: 57%- 60%), 95% (CI: 94%- 97%), 54% (CI: 52% - 56%), and 46% (CI:44% - 48%) respectively. More pharmacy students compared to medical students had a good attitude and perception on antibiotic use (79.6% vs. 68.4%; p = 0.026). The students at CUHAS perceived being more prepared to use antibiotic in district hospitals compared to MKU and MUK (75.3% vs. 62.7% vs. 65.3%; p = 0.079). While two hundred and seventy (82.3%) students perceived knowing when to start antimicrobial therapy, 112 (34.2%) did not know how to select the appropriate antibiotic (p<0.0001), 97 (29.6%) did not know the antibiotic dose to give (p<0.0001), and 111 (33.8%) did not know when to switch form an intravenous antibiotic to oral regimen (p<0.0001).

Conclusion

Final year students have low scores in knowledge about antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use in clinical scenarios. This has exposed gaps in practical training of students, while they may feel confident, are not fully prepared to prescribe antibiotics in a hospital setting. A multidisciplinary and practical approach involving medical schools across the East African region should be undertaken to train final year undergraduate students in antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship programs. Antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship courses should be introduced into the curriculum of final year medicine and pharmacy programs.

SUBMITTER: Lubwama M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8104438 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDuring the undergraduate years, laboratory practical classes using experimental animals are important in pharmacy schools. Limitations for experimental use of animals exist, including the procurement of animals, the difficulty in performing animal experiments, ethical considerations, and more often students' preferences.ObjectiveTo evaluate pharmacy students' perceptions, barriers, and confidence regarding animal use in the pharmacology laboratory course, and the effect of animal handling on their confidence.MethodsThis observational pre- and post-course parallel group design study was conducted during the Pharmacology laboratory involving 3rd-year pharmacology students from one school of pharmacy in Jordan. A questionnaire was designed and validated to collect students' demographic characteristics, perceived barriers and perceptions regarding animal handling during the lab, and the level of confidence pre- and post-course, assessing differences between those who handled and those who did not handle animals.ResultsAll Pharmacology lab students (n = 212) with a mean age of 21.11 (SD 1.32) and the majority being females (77.0%) were enrolled. Students who refused to handle animals (n = 105, 49.5%) stated phobia as the main barrier. Students who accepted to handle animals agreed more with the importance of seeing and practicing animal handling, with animal handling being essential to understand the effect of drugs on animals and in its importance to gain skills, than those who refused. More than half of students (55.9%) reported feeling confident/somewhat confident in animal handling and in giving animals injections (50.8%) at baseline. At the end of the course, students who accepted animal handling reported significantly higher confidence.ConclusionThis study revealed important students' barriers and perspectives to animal handling. Those who handled the animals reported better confidence in certain areas at the end of the course than those who refused. Engaging students when making decisions regarding educational practices paves the way for change to the current traditional paradigm in the education of future scholars.

Project description:Pharmaceutical care (PC) practice is still limited in the United Arab Emirates. It is crucial to understand pharmacy students' attitudes and their perceived barriers towards PC provision, to evaluate the effectiveness of theoretical and practical curricula in creating positive attitudes toward PC. This study aims to assess attitudes of final year undergraduate pharmacy students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the barriers perceived by them to practice PC. A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted in February and March, 2020, involving colleges in UAE offering undergraduate pharmacy programs and having students in their final year. Participants filled a questionnaire covering attitudes' items, based on the Pharmaceutical Care Attitudes Survey (PCAS), and several perceived barriers. A stratified sample of 193 students participated from six universities, 85% were females, 92.2% and 64.8% completed or engaged in community and hospital pharmacy training respectively, at the time of the study. Attitudes' items receiving the highest agreement were PC will improve patient health (95.3%), all pharmacists should perform PC (93.3%) and PC would benefit pharmacists (92.7%). However, 44.6% agreed PC is not worth the additional workload. Females showed higher attitudes' total scores, median (IQR): 55 (51-58) and 52 (49-55.5) for females and males respectively, P = 0.032. Having incomplete courses was also associated with lower scores, median (IQR): 55 (51-58) and 52 (48.5-55.5) for "No" and "Yes" respectively, P = 0.048. Poor image of the pharmacist's role and lack of private counseling area or inappropriate pharmacy layout were the most perceived barriers, with around 78% agreement. In conclusion, final year undergraduate pharmacy students in the UAE have positive attitudes towards pharmaceutical care. The current curricula may be satisfactory in fostering positive attitudes among students. Poor image of the pharmacist's role and lack of counseling area or inappropriate pharmacy layout were the main barriers identified, among other barriers.

Project description:IntroductionThe aim of this study was to evaluate usage habits, attitudes and perceptions towards mobile learning (m-learning), as well as to identify variables related to those attitudes amongst undergraduate dental students.Materials and methodsThe study consists of 81 dental undergraduate students who who volunteered to participate. The data collection tool consists of an m-learning attitude scale, a questionnaire, and open-ended questions. To compare the total scores and factors of m-learning attitude scale for demographic information and mobile technology usage habits of the students; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for two independent groups such as gender, presence of electronic devices, and places of Internet usage. The Kruskal-Wallis test was also used to compare the total scores and factors of m-learning attitude scale for more than two independent groups including internet usage purposes and opinions. Spearman's correlation coefficient was performed, and linear regression analysis was used to predict the change in total score according to the purposes of Internet usage.ResultsThe majority of students thought that the use of mobile devices in dentistry courses was useful and their attitudes towards m-learning were high. The students generally use the Internet for online shopping, connecting to social networks, and communication. They tend to use mobile technologies for personal use, followed by educational purposes. There were significant differences found in the m-learning attitudes for gender, having a portable power supply and use of mobile devices in dentistry courses. Communication was found significant in predicting the change in total score for the m-learning attitude scale according to the purpose of Internet usage.ConclusionDental students have generally positive attitudes towards m-learning. Students raise awareness towards the promise of m-learning in order to apply their individual technology use and learning behaviours. Designing learning materials and applications for mobile devices may increase students' performances.

Project description:Background: Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is one of the major issues around the globe. Timely education and awareness of pharmacy students regarding the appropriate use of antibiotics, ABR, and antimicrobial stewardships are required. Methods: The present study was first conducted in 12 (public and private sector) universities among undergraduate pharmacy students (UGPS) (n = 414) irrespective of their study year through a validated questionnaire, and the insights of pharmacy teachers were taken through in-depth semi-structured interviews in the second phase. For the quantitative data, different statistical methods were used, and data were presented in tabulated form, whereas inductive thematic interpretation was used to categorize themes and derive conclusions from qualitative evidence. Results: The majority of the students were males (n = 223, 54%) with the mean age group 19-23 years, and 20 faculty members were interviewed with a mean duration of 15 min. Students have good knowledge about antibiotics use and the majority purchased antibiotics through prescription (n = 277, 66.9%) during the last month and strongly agreed to stop unnecessary household storage (n = 183 44.2%). Most of the students have heard the terminologies related to antimicrobial resistance through social media while unaware (n = 104, 25.1%) of a Pakistan national action plan against AMR (antimicrobial resistance). Overall, respondents have a somewhat good understanding of the ABR. Regular use of antibiotics without consultation of a physician can lead to ABR and some wrong answers were observed (162, 39.1%; p > 0.05). The majority of the students (n = 198, 47.8%) and teachers believe that the current pharmacy syllabus must be swiftly updated with the new subjects related to ABR and AMS (antimicrobial stewardship) in Pakistan. The UGPS have emphasized (n = 220, 53.1%; Median = 1, IQR = 2) establishing a link between academia and hospitals. The ABR issue has been highlighted by pharmacy faculty members, who have urged students to take practical efforts toward ABR and AMS knowledge. Conclusion: The UGPS knowledge related to ABR and AMS must be updated. Students at the undergraduate level must get training in order to encourage the sensible use of antibiotics. Courses on ABR and AMS should be included in present pharmacy curricula.

Project description:Pharmacists are the custodians of drugs; hence their education, training, behaviors and experiences would affect the future use of drugs at community and hospital pharmacies. Therefore, we aimed at evaluating the self-prescribing antibiotic trends, knowledge and attitudes among pharmacy and non-pharmacy students. We found that pharmacy students had higher risks of experiencing URIs related symptoms such as cough (RR; 1.7, p = 0.002), allergy (RR; 2.07, p = 0.03) and running nose (RR; 3.17, p<0.005), compared to non-pharmacy students -resulting in higher probabilities of selecting cough syrups (OR; 2.3, p<0.005), anti-histamines (OR; 1.8, p = 0.036) and anti-inflammatory/anti-pyretic (OR; 2.4, p<0.005) drugs. Likewise, bachelor's degree pupils (OR; 2, p = 0.045), urban area residents (OR; 2.44; p = 0.002) and pharmacy students (OR; 2.9, p<0.005) exhibited higher propensities of antibiotic self-use-notable classes include, b-lactams (45.9%) followed by macrolides (26.5%) and augmentin (28.94%), respectively. Surprisingly, pharmacy and non-pharmacy students had higher odds of using antibiotics in common cold (OR; 3.2, p<0.005) and pain (OR; 2.37, p = 0.015), respectively. Unlike non-pharmacy students, pharmacy students were likely to select alternative therapy, such as Joshanda (OR; 2.22, p = 0.011) and were well acquainted with antibiotic hazards, with 77% reduction in risk of antibiotics re-use. In conclusion, university students exhibited antibiotic self-prescribing trends in conditions that does not warrant their use, thus are irrational users. The pharmacy education confers very little benefit to rational self-prescribing practices among students, while non-pharmacy students are more vulnerable to repeated antibiotic usage. Thus, the educational and training modules should be designed for university students to disseminate targeted information regarding the potential hazards of antibiotic self-use and importance of consultation with qualified and registered medical doctor/pharmacist before starting with antibiotics.