Abstract
BackgroundIdentifying healthcare workers (HCW) who have less awareness and knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance represents a challenge for public health, since it might help the development of novel educational and training initiatives tailored on specific subgroups of professionals. This work aims to compare knowledge, attitudes and behaviors on antibiotic use and resistance across different groups of Italian HCW.MethodsWe used data from the multi-country and multi-professional survey launched by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control between 28 January to 4 March 2019 to assess knowledge, attitude and behaviors of HCW on antibiotics, antibiotic use and resistance. We distinguished three clusters of HCW using the Two-Step Cluster analysis, based on their personal and professional characteristics (i.e. profession, role, activity as prescriber, setting, and activity as antibiotic use advisor).ResultsIn general, cluster 1 consisted mostly of allied healthcare workers, while clusters 2 and 3 were made up almost completely of pharmacists and medical doctors, respectively. Interestingly, healthcare workers in cluster 3 had the highest knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance. Workers in cluster 1, instead, were those reporting the highest awareness of the importance and role of hand hygiene as an infection prevention and control measure. However, HCW in cluster 2 were those who recognized more their role of advisors on prudent antibiotic use.ConclusionsItalian HCW exhibited different knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors on antibiotic use and resistance. These findings raised the need for educational and training interventions targeting specific professional groups.
Highlights
Antibiotic resistance represents one of the major threats for public health worldwide
The assessment was completed by 832 medical doctors, 555 pharmacists or pharmaceutical technicians, 241 allied healthcare workers (HCW), and 65 other HCW
This was probably due to their greater awareness of the relationship between antibiotic use and resistance and their easiest access to guidelines on infection management, reasons that emerged from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) survey [12]
Summary
Antibiotic resistance represents one of the major threats for public health worldwide. It has been estimated that every year approximately 700,000 deaths are caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms [1, 2]. Previous studies have focused on the antibiotic use behavior of the general public, HCW are among the most common professional figures involved in prescribing, dispensing and/or administering antibiotics, and playing a key role in the management of infections [6, 8,9,10]. Identifying healthcare workers (HCW) who have less awareness and knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance represents a challenge for public health, since it might help the development of novel educational and training initiatives tailored on specific subgroups of professionals. This work aims to compare knowledge, attitudes and behaviors on antibiotic use and resistance across different groups of Italian HCW
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