Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about antibiotic resistance among medical students in India

Abstract

Context:To reduce the magnitude of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need to strengthen the knowledge for future prescribers regarding use and prescription of antibiotics. Before that, it is required to have a conclusive evidence about knowledge, attitude, and practices of that group.Aim:To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and the practices of medical students in India with respect to antibiotic resistance and usage.Settings and Design:It was a cross-sectional study which was done online through Google forms for a period of 4 months from July to October 2018.Materials and Methods:A structured questionnaire containing a five-point Likert scale was sent to medical students across India by sharing link through contacts of Medical Students Association of India. Respondent-driven sampling technique was also adopted for the study.Statistical Analysis Used:Descriptive statistics, parametric (Chi-square), and nonparametric (Kruskal--Wallis and Mann--Whitney U) tests.Results:A total of 474 responses were received from 103 medical colleges across 22 states of India. The mean score of knowledge was 4.36 ± 0.39. As compared to first year students, knowledge was significantly higher among students of all the years. As much as 83.3% students have consumed antibiotics in previous year of the survey. Around 45% of medical students accepted that they buy antibiotics without a medical prescription.Conclusion:The knowledge level of medical students was quite satisfactory. As far as attitude and practices are concerned, there is a substantial need for improvements.

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

“…In a study carried out in India, most of the medical students had good knowledge about antibiotics, with up to 98.1% reporting correctly that antibiotics are useful for bacterial infections. As demonstrated in our study, knowledge of antibiotic use for different resistance mechanisms was poor [ 19 ]. In a similar study carried out in Nigeria in 2018, 64.7% of the respondents had good knowledge of antimicrobial resistance, and only 56.0% had good practice toward antimicrobial use [ 14 ].…”

Understanding of Future Prescribers About Antimicrobial Resistance and Their Preparedness Towards Antimicrobial Stewardship Activities in Pakistan: Findings and Implications

“…A questionnaire was developed after a comprehensive, relevant literature review ( Gupta et al, 2019 ; Okedo-Alex et al, 2019 ; Saleem et al, 2019 ; Struzycka et al, 2019 ; Van Der Voort et al, 2019 ; Efthymiou et al, 2020 ; Tiong and Chua, 2020 ). Questionnaire validation, including face and content validity, was ensured from an expert team (2 professors and 2 physicians) and a group of potential subjects.…”

Comparing the Effectiveness of Different Approaches to Raise Awareness About Antimicrobial Resistance in Farmers and Veterinarians of India

“…Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public health concern, but it is particularly serious in developing countries like India ( 1 , 2 ), where the burden of infectious diseases is very high, causing the use of antibiotics to be more common and AMR elevated ( 3 – 5 ). AMR development and dissemination are complex problems aggravated by the expectations, interactions of prescribers and patients, as well as limited awareness, a permissive regulatory framework, and easy access to antimicrobials ( 6 , 7 ). Common pathogenic bacteria in India have some of the highest antibiotic resistance rates globally ( 8 , 9 ).…”