Educational intervention material toward public knowledge and perception in antibiotic awareness – An evaluation of the impact in Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic awareness campaigns have been conducted in Malaysia since 2015. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of self-developed educational material towards public knowledge and perception of oral antibiotic use and resistance. Methods and materials: A quasi-experimental study was conducted at 5 hospitals and 20 primary health clinics in Perak state from January to February 2019. The first phase of data collection consisted of pre-education evaluation, educational session and immediate post-education evaluation. The second phase involved post-education evaluation via phone calls. The questionnaire was developed and validated by researchers. The education material was developed with references from WHO and Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia. It consisted of antibiotic resistance knowledge (total score of 4), antibiotic use knowledge (total score of 6) and antibiotic use perception (total score of 5). The educational sessions were conducted by trained pharmacists for approximately 15 minutes followed by 2 weeks post-education evaluation. Results: 300 questionnaires were distributed with 234 completed the evaluation. The respondents scored total mean 2.83 (±1.28) in antibiotic resistance knowledge during pre-education, 3.76 (±0.62) immediately post-education and 3.67 (±0.78) 2 weeks post-education (p < 0.001). In antibiotics use knowledge, they obtained total mean 2.03 (±1.56) during pre-education, 4.56 (±1.46) immediately post-education and 4.32 (±1.48) 2 weeks post-education (p < 0.001) while the total mean scores for perception towards antibiotic use were 2.83 (±1.38), 4.25 (±1.06) and 4.22 (±1.02) respectively (p < 0.001). Initially, 160 (68.7%) respondents understood that antibiotic resistance happened when the antibiotic lost its ability to cure bacterial infection. 2 weeks post-education, 212 correct respondents (90.6%) were obtained (p < 0.001). During pre-education, 85 respondents (36.3%) disagreed on taking inadequate dose antibiotic for treatment, which increased to 166 correct respondents (70.9%) 2 weeks post-education (p < 0.001). 62 (26.5%) respondents believed that individual can contribute to prevent antibiotic resistance during pre-education with a significant increment to 162 respondents (69.2%) 2 weeks post-education (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Educational intervention material was able to improve public knowledge and perception. This should be encouraged in antibiotic awareness campaign.