Evaluation of the understanding of antibiotic resistance among Malaysian pharmacy students at public universities: an exploratory study

Background Infectious diseases are a great threat to humankind, and antibiotics are a viable proposition to numerous pathologies. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern. Therefore, the aims of this survey were to explore the understanding and attitudes of pharmacy students regarding ant...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rajiah, Kingston, Wong, S.Ren, Jamshed, Shazia Qasim
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Elsevier 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/50820/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/50820/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/50820/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/50820/2/50820_wos_and_scopus.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/50820/3/50820_Evaluation_of_understanding.pdf
Description
Summary:Background Infectious diseases are a great threat to humankind, and antibiotics are a viable proposition to numerous pathologies. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern. Therefore, the aims of this survey were to explore the understanding and attitudes of pharmacy students regarding antibiotic use and resistance. Methods This is a cross-sectional study conducted on final-year undergraduate pharmacy students from 5 public universities. A validated, self-administered questionnaire written in English was used to collect data. It was made up of six domains and forty-five questions. Raosoft software was used to determine the minimum required sample size. Descriptive and inferential data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20 software. Results Out of 346 students, only 59.5% showed a strong understanding of antibiotic usage, while 84.4% of students demonstrated a good level of understanding regarding the issue of antibiotic resistance. However, only 34.1% of students demonstrated a positive attitude toward this issue. Conclusion This survey reveals that final-year pharmacy students at Malaysian public universities have a relatively good understanding of antibiotic resistance. However, their attitudes did not strongly correlate to their knowledge.