Knowledge and Practice of Antibiotic Management and Prudent Prescribing among Polish Medical Doctors

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent public health issue. The role of medical doctors in proper antibiotic use is crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and practices of Polish doctors of antimicrobial prescribing and antibiotic resistance. The study group consisted of 504 medical doctors with an average age 32.8 ± 5.9 years, mostly women (65%). The paper questionnaire was developed on the basis of a survey tool developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Public Health England (PHE). According to our study, physicians were aware that: taking antibiotics has side effects, antibiotics cannot be used against viruses, unnecessary use of antibiotics leads to AMR and that healthy people can carry resistant bacteria (each item ≥98% correct responses). Only 47% of respondents knew that the use of antibiotics as growth stimulants in livestock is illegal in the EU. Of the respondents, 98.61% saw the connection between prescribing antibiotics and AMR. However, 65.28% of the respondents reported a lack of appropriate materials on AMR counseling. Nearly 92.5% of participants “never” or “rarely” gave out resources on prudent antibiotic use. Physicians in Poland underestimate the role of hand hygiene in stimulating antibiotic resistance (ABR) (74.4%), while demonstrating satisfying knowledge about antimicrobial use, the clinical application of antimicrobial guidelines and prevention of ABR. However, educational interventions are needed to help lead challenging communication with assertive patients. Appropriate patient resources would be helpful in reaching this goal.

Polish Medical Doctors’ Opinions on Available Resources and Information Campaigns concerning Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance, a Cross-Sectional Study

“…To the author’s knowledge, this is the only published and by far the most recent study of Polish physicians’ opinions on available resources and information campaigns on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. It is a continuation of a study by Zgliczyński et al on knowledge and practice in antibiotic management among Polish prescribers published in 2022 [ 27 ].…”

“…[ 28 ]. Doctors in Poland complain about not having adequate tools and patient-friendly resources at hand to educate their patients on ABR [ 27 ]. Perhaps physicians should be familiarized more directly with the selection of materials on WAAW and EAAD through the ECDC sites or the NPPA as part of their in-practice training.…”

“…Figure 1 presents the demographic characteristics of the study group. The same study group's characteristics were presented in our previous research on knowledge and practice of Polish medical doctors on antibiotics prescribing and antibiotic resistance [27]. The surveyed medical doctors had work experience as medical doctors from 1 to 39 years, 5.1 ± 5.8 years, on average.…”

“…In a 2017 paper by Mazińska and Hryniewicz, most physicians (91%) agreed that antimicrobial resistance is a problem [ 26 ]. As reported in survey results performed by Zgliczyńki et al, over 98% of interviewed physicians see the connection between prescribing antibiotics and ABR [ 27 ]. The problem of antibiotics-prescribing patterns among Polish physicians has been explored to a lesser extent thus far.…”

“…The main focus of this paper is to gauge the opinion of doctors in Poland on available resources and information campaigns on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. This is the second part of a research study on the management of antibiotics by Polish medical doctors carried out by the School of Public Health, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education (CMKP) in Warsaw, Poland [ 27 ]. The whole research project was based on a survey and a report released by the European Centre of Infection Control and Prevention (ECDC) on knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding antibiotics, antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance among healthcare workers across 30 EU/EEA countries [ 30 , 31 ].…”