Knowledge, Attitude and Practice About Use of Antibiotic by Medical Students : A Cross Sectional Pilot Study on Para-clinical Students in HFRCMC

Abstract

The prevalence of self -medication with antibiotics is quite high in developing countries as opposed to developed countries due to easy availability and poor regulatory controls for selling these drugs. Antibiotics are often taken erroneously for certain ailments, without having the appropriate knowledge of their use. This carries potential risks for the individual as well as the community, in form of several side effects such as antibiotic resistance. Therefore the prevalence of self-medicated antibiotics in developing countries needs to be studied. To assess knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotic usage among undergraduate medical students, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka. Total 150 students of third and fourth year MBBS were included in the study. Data was collected using self-administered pre-tested questionnaires ensuring before the teaching sessions on antibiotics in MBBS curriculum to evaluate the unbiased response of the participants. Almost 90% of the respondents wrongly believed to treat common cold most of the time by antibiotic. About 77% students were uncertain about the treatment outcome due to injudicious use of antibiotics. Almost 70% respondents strongly disagreed about development of antibiotic resistance due to skipping 1-2 doses. About 62% students believed that more than one antibiotic combination might reduce the adverse effects of single antibiotic. Only 46% participants think they had individual role in antibiotic resistance. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among the medical students was high despite the awareness of adverse effects. The study showed remarkable lack of awareness of medical students at para-clinical phase regarding individual role and use of antibiotic in development of resistance. The academic input of knowledge and course content of Pharmacology may contribute in the improvement of attitude and practice, which should be evaluated in follow up studies.