Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Antibiotics and Its Resistance: A Two-Phase Mixed-Methods Online Study among Pakistani Community Pharmacists to Promote Rational Antibiotic Use

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is an emerging global threat to public health. Substantial evidence has indicated that community pharmacists (CPs) can play a critical role in managing the ever-increasing threat of antibiotic resistance. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practices of CPs (n = 180) towards antibiotics and antibiotic resistance as well as to improve the rational use of antibiotics. A two-phase mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) online study was conducted in Pakistan from August 2019 to March 2020 by using validated questionnaires and semi-structured interview data. Different statistical methods were used to tabulate the quantitative data, whereas inductive thematic analysis was conducted to categorize themes from the qualitative data and to draw conclusions. Approximately 64.4% of the CPs were male (mean: 29–33 years old). Overall, CPs had good knowledge of and were familiar with multidrug-resistant organisms and their roles in ABR (65.6%, median = 1, and IQR = 1), although their knowledge was poor in differentiating some antibiotic groups with their respective ABR patterns (31.1%, median = 1, and IQR = 1). Most CPs have a positive attitude towards antibiotics, with most (90.0%) identifying ABR as a critical issue in public health (median = 1 and IQR = 0). Overall, CPs’ practices towards antibiotics were somewhat acceptable, where they leaned towards educating patients about the rational use of antibiotics (52.8%, median = 1, and IQR = 1). The two main themes discovered (antibiotics and counseling of patients) were related to self-medication, while educational intervention is the main subtheme. ABR is multifactorial, with subthemes related to budget, time constraints, incompetent staff, the absence of CPs, the lack of training, and the enforcement of laws and regulations being the needs of the hour in Pakistan. Effective antibiotic stewardship programs, patient education, and awareness campaigns about antibiotics and ABR along with training of the CPs are important factors that have to be addressed in a timely manner.

Exploring Undergraduate Pharmacy Students Perspectives Towards Antibiotics Use, Antibiotic Resistance, and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs Along With the Pharmacy Teachers’ Perspectives: A Mixed-Methods Study From Pakistan

“…The first phase (quantitative) is comprised of UGPS irrespective of their study year or semester in Pakistani universities along with faculty members in the second phase (qualitative). Mixed methods design has a positive impact to evaluate both sides of the study area ( Khan et al, 2021 ).…”

“…A WHO (world health organization) report revealed that out of a total of 67% of antibiotics used in the community about 30% are used irrationally by healthcare providers ( Koivusalo and Mackintosh, 2008 ). There is a direct link between the use of antibiotics and ABR and their use in the community ( Khan et al, 2020a ; Khan et al, 2021 ; Malik et al, 2021 ).…”

Effectiveness of Pharmacist-Led Brief Educational Intervention for Adherence to the Antibiotics for Lower Respiratory Tract Infections (EATSA) in Post-Conflict Rural Areas of Pakistan: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

“…These determinants lead to the inappropriate use of antibiotics and, ultimately, antibiotics resistance is a likely the result of this misuse. Hence, there is an utmost need to engage the community and all stakeholders, including the local people, to stop the irrational use of antibiotics [24,[43][44][45][46][47][48].…”

Antibiotic Resistance (Abr) and Community Pharmacist: A Review

“…The other contributing factors to this are lack of proper knowledge on the use, disposal, and non-adherence to antibiotics [22]. ABR is a critical issue of concern both in developing and developed countries, making it a global issue [23][24][25][26][27]. A single bacterium resistant to more than one antibiotic is known as Multidrug-resistant (MDR).…”