The effectiveness of counselling patients on antibacterial rational use by pharmacists depends on their knowledge and attitude to counselling.This study evaluated the effect of intervention training on pharmacists’ antibacterial therapy knowledge and attitude to counselling. It was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study among all the pharmacists (n=45) responsible for patients’ antibacterial counselling in seventeen government secondary health care institutions in Ogun state of Nigeria between November 2017 and May 2018. Identified deficits were addressed through intervention and re-assessment was carried out after a month. Twenty four (53.3%) were females. Twenty one (46.7%) had hospital pharmacy experience of over 10 years and mean year of experience was 10.7±6.7. Sixteen (35.6%) and 36 (80.0%) believed that antibacterial resistance may be prevented by taking antibacterial medication at regular intervals at the baseline and post intervention phases respectively. Thirty three (73.3%) and 44 (97.8%) had the opinion that pharmacists and patients are active participants in effective antibacterial counselling at the two phases respectively. Twenty eight (62.2%) and 44 (97.8%) had scores ≥ 70.0% signifying good knowledge pre and post intervention respectively. Disclosure of antibacterial identity to patients was believed to be necessary by thirty six (80.0%) and 43 (95.6%) while 27 (60.0%) and 43 (95.6%) exhibited positive attitude to antibacterial counselling at the two phases respectively. There was significant improvement in antibacterial knowledge and attitude to counselling (p < 0.001) post intervention. Regular antibacterial therapy and counselling training is hereby recommended for pharmacists.

The knowledge and opinion of patients on antibacterial usage depends on pharmacist’s counselling. In Nigeria, study assessing patients’ perception of pharmacists’ antibacterial counselling is scarce. This study assessed the knowledge and opinion of patients on antibacterial usage as a result of pharmacists’ counselling pre and post intervention. The study was a cross sectional study among 409 outpatients with antibacterial prescriptions in 17-government-owned secondary healthcare facilities in Ogun State of Nigeria between July 2017 and May 2018. The knowledge and the opinion of the patients were determined via structured questionnaire and deficiency was addressed via intervention training for the pharmacists. Re-assessment was carried out after a month. Four hundred and nine patients participated at each of the two phases of the study.  The mean age at the baseline survey, was 43.9 ± 14.9 and the age range was 19 - 87 years while at the post intervention survey, the mean age was 44.1 ± 15.7 and the age range was from 18 to 91 years. The patients that were probed on drugs they had at hand or at home increased from 20 (4.9%) to 263 (64.3%) between the two phases. Seventeen, (4.2%) and 171 (41.8) claimed to receive counselling on necessity of completing the course of therapy at the two phases respectively. The survey confirmed that 284 (69.4%) and 319 (77.9%) at the two phases respectively were of the view that counselling on drugs is best done by pharmacists. Two hundred and fifty six (62.7%) and 262 (64.1%) patients rated the counselling they received as ≥ 70% at the two phases respectively. There was significant improvement in the knowledge and opinion of patients on antibacterial usage due to pharmacists’ counselling post intervention p < .05. Constant training on antibacterial counselling should therefore be encouraged among pharmacists.