Knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial stewardship concepts among final year pharmacy students in pharmacy schools across South Africa

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship is currently not mandatory as part of the undergraduate training of pharmacists. Identifying gaps in knowledge and a better understanding of pharmacy students' perceptions about antimicrobial stewardship could assist in recommendations for appropriate changes to the pharmacy degree curricula that may lead to more appropriate use of antimicrobials, within the multidisciplinary team. Methods: A descriptive quantitative study with a survey design was conducted at the eight universities offering the pharmacy degree in South Africa. An electronic questionnaire with four main categories on antimicrobial stewardship was administered to final (fourth) year pharmacy students (June-August 2015). Results: An overall response rate of 26.6% (n = 260) was obtained from 978 students, despite a weekly reminder. Most of the respondents were familiar with antimicrobial stewardship programmes in South Africa (71.9%), and claimed to know what antimicrobial stewardship is (83.5%) with significant differences between the universities (p < 0.001). Only 37.7% of the respondents recalled having had formal training on antimicrobial stewardship, with responses from the eight universities differing significantly (p < 0.001). However, almost all respondents (98.5%) felt that a strong knowledge of antimicrobials was important for their future career, with 90.0% indicating that they would like more training on antimicrobial stewardship at undergraduate level. Conclusion: There were significant differences between the eight universities with regards to undergraduate education on antimicrobial stewardship. In order to help prevent antimicrobial resistance, efforts should be made to introduce concepts of antimicrobial stewardship into the undergraduate pharmacy curricula to promote better use of antimicrobials and prevent antimicrobial resistance.

Veterinarians’ Perception, Knowledge and Practices of Antibiotic Stewardship in Enugu State Southeast, Nigeria

“…This could be attributed to the fact that very few (17.1%) of the respondents in this study, had heard about ABS. Cotta et al (2014) reported that 41% have heard of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) among practitioners (physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, anaesthetists, nurses) in a large private hospital in Australia while Burger et al (2016) reported that 83.5% have heard about AMS among final year pharmacy students in 3 South African universities. The differences in proportions of respondents that have heard of AMS in these studies, may be due to disparity in the level of AMS awareness education that has been conducted in the healthcare facilities/study area, awareness obtained from other sources (such as mass media, journals, etc.)…”

“…The questionnaire was developed after a literature review of comparable studies (Abbo et al, 2013;Burger et al, 2016;Castro-Sanchez et al, 2016) and validated by a pilot study on 10 veterinarians. Participation was voluntary.…”

Undergraduate antimicrobial stewardship training for pharmacy students: Creating a foundation for containment of antimicrobial resistance in South Africa

“…[7] Similarly, a national survey was conducted in 2016 that focused on the knowledge and perceptions of antimicrobial stewardship concepts among finalyear pharmacy students in SA. [8] The results of the study revealed that although the majority (95.8%) of students felt that the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes is essential, only 71.9% were familiar with stewardship programmes in SA, and 96.5% of participants stated that they would like more education on antimicrobial stewardship. [8] At the 37th annual general meeting of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of SA, held in July 2016, it was emphasised that steps need to be taken to ensure adequate undergraduate antimicrobial stewardship training for pharmacy students in SA.…”

“…[8] The results of the study revealed that although the majority (95.8%) of students felt that the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes is essential, only 71.9% were familiar with stewardship programmes in SA, and 96.5% of participants stated that they would like more education on antimicrobial stewardship. [8] At the 37th annual general meeting of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of SA, held in July 2016, it was emphasised that steps need to be taken to ensure adequate undergraduate antimicrobial stewardship training for pharmacy students in SA. In response to the national call for undergraduate antimicrobial stewardship training for pharmacy students, a study is now being undertaken to develop a proposed minimum curriculum content suitable for implementation in undergraduate pharmacy degree programmes in SA.…”

‘Esprit de corps’: Towards collaborative integration of pharmacists and nurses into antimicrobial stewardship programmes in South Africa

“…Furthermore, undergraduate education is variable; a recent study of final-year pharmacy students across SA universities documented significant differences between the eight universities with regard to undergraduate AS education. [14] Furthermore, specialisation in pharmacy at a postgraduate level is not yet formally recognised by the South African Pharmacy Council and not widely available. With regard to nursing, the curriculum currently involves modules on microbiology and pharmacology.…”