Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF BACHELOR IN PHARMACY STUDENTS TOWARDS THE RATIONAL USE OF ANTIBIOTICS

*Dr. Brian Thompson, Abu. Bakarr Jawara, Dr. Mamadu Jalloh

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial agents are irreplaceable therapeutic assets; nevertheless, their wrong use promotes the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Pharmacy students are seen as the future custodians of the pharmaceutical care form a critical aspect in the antimicrobial stewardship programs. This study determined the attitudes and perceptions of Bachelor of Pharmacy students at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS), University of Sierra Leone, regarding the rational use of antibiotics. Methods: In April-October 2022, a descriptive cross-sectional was conducted, and the whole set of 152 undergraduate pharmacy students in all five academic years were included. The respondents were asked to complete a structured and self-administered questionnaire that assessed demographic variables, attitudes (13 items) and perceptions (15 items). Answers were measured and classified as either good, average or poor. The analysis of data was done with SPSS version 21. Results: The response rate was 100 percent. Most of them (67.8 % male and 46.1 % female) were of the 15 to 24 year age group (42.8 % of the sample), and first year students represented 42.8 % of the sample. Sixty-eight point four percent of the respondents indicated positive attitudes with 10.5 percent and 21.1 percent reporting average and poor attitudes respectively. Regarding perceptions, 75.7 percent proved to have good understanding and 24.3 percent had poor perception. Whereas the level of AMR awareness was high (90.8%), a significant percentage (97.4% of participants) reported antibiotic misuse and a substantial (40.8 percent) number of participants thought that a sub-therapeutic dose can be beneficial. Conclusion: Students in pharmacy tended to demonstrate positive attitudes and perceptions towards rational use of antibiotics, although still some misconceptions were obvious. It is suggested that structured antimicrobial stewardship education should be incorporated in the undergraduate curriculum to support the future efforts of combating AMR.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, antibiotics; rational use; pharmacy students; Sierra Leone.