Knowledge and self-confidence of antibiotic resistance, appropriate antibiotic therapy, and antibiotic stewardship among pharmacy undergraduate students in three Asian countries

Abstract

Background and purposeTraining pharmacy students in infectious diseases (ID) is important to enable them to participate in antibiotic stewardship programs. This study evaluated knowledge and self-confidence regarding antibiotic resistance, appropriate antibiotic therapy, and antibiotic stewardship among final year pharmacy undergraduate students. MethodsA cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted at universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. A 59-item survey was administered between October 2017 and December 2017. FindingsThe survey was completed by 211 students (response rate 77.8%). The mean knowledge score for antibiotic resistance, appropriate antibiotic therapy, and antibiotic stewardship was 5.6 ± 1.5, 4.7 ± 1.8 (maximum scores 10.0) and 3.1 ± 1.4 (maximum score 5.0), respectively. Significant variations were noted among the schools. There was poor awareness about the consequences of antibiotic resistance and cases with no need for an antibiotic. The knowledge of antibiotic resistance was higher among male respondents (6.1 vs. 5.4) and those who had attended antibiotic resistance (5.7 vs. 5.2) and antibiotic therapy (5.8 vs. 4.9) courses (p < 0.05). Students with ID clerkship experience (5.2 vs. 4.5) had significantly higher score for appropriate antibiotic therapy. ConclusionsFinal year pharmacy undergraduate students in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan had moderate knowledge of antibiotic resistance and antibiotic stewardship. However, the knowledge of appropriate antibiotic therapy was poor.