Community pharmacists’ knowledge of and attitudes toward antibiotic use, resistance, and self-medication in Jordan

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a major global concern. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics may contribute to treatment failure and AR. Data about community pharmacists’ (CPs) knowledge of and behaviour toward antibiotic use and AR are limited. Our objective was to evaluate the knowledge of and attitudes towards antibiotic use and AR in CPs in Jordan. A large cross-sectional face-to-face survey of a random sample of 500 CPs in Jordan was conducted over a 2-month period. A representative sample was collected using the proportionate random sampling technique, which enabled us to geographically categorize the study population. Reliability and validity measures were taken to ensure a comprehensive and appropriate study tool. We used the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS®) version 24 to conduct descriptive analysis and logistic regression. The majority (86.6%) of respondents thought it was legal to dispense antibiotics without a prescription in Jordan. Only 24.2% had good knowledge regarding amoxicillin dosages for upper respiratory tract infections, and 66.2% did not know that bacteria are the predominant causative pathogens of acute otitis media. The majority (71.6%) knew that overuse of antibiotics is considered the principal cause of AR. However, only 34.4% were familiar with the definition of cross resistance, and 85.6% had misconceptions regarding patient compliance and its causal relationship with AR. Knowledge of antibiotic use was likely to be better in CPs who worked in urban areas than in those working in rural areas (odds ratio [OR] 1.2; 95% CI 0.74–2.31; p = 0.02) and in CPs with a postgraduate degree than in those without (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.89–4.56; p = 0.04). As many CPs in Jordan have poor knowledge of antibiotics and AR, continual educational interventions to improve this situation are necessary.