Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on Antibiotic Use and Resistance Among Doctors in B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences

Abstract

Background: Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of antibiotic prescription among doctors may help in developing guidelines to improve antibiotics use and decrease resistance. Aims and objectives: Our aim was to evaluate KAP regarding antibiotic use and its resistance among doctors. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted among the doctors of B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal between January-March 2016 and their KAP regarding antibiotic use and resistance was assessed by using a five point Likert scale. The data were analyzed by calculating percentage and frequency. Results: Almost half of the doctors (50.2%) used to prescribe antibiotics more than once daily. Nearly two thirds of the doctors (65.3%) received antibiotic education at a formal lecture on ward rounds. Most of the doctors (87.4%) agreed that antimicrobials are overused. One hundred thirty four doctors (42.3%) agreed that patients' demands for antibiotics contribute to its overuse. Nearly two third doctors (70.7%) believed that locally developed antimicrobial guidelines would be more useful. Most of the respondents (89.9%) wanted more ongoing education on antibiotic use and its resistance. Conclusions: Our study reveals that antibiotics are overused and patients' demand contributes to this. Locally developed antimicrobial guidelines would be more useful. More CME on antibiotic use and its resistance should be conducted to enhance the awareness among doctors.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Antibiotic Use among the Support Staff of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in India

“…The questionnaire was developed by reviewing available questionnaires in the literature (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). The questionnaire was designed in three language versions: English, Hindi, and Marathi.…”

“…The improper use of antibiotics may arise from a complex interaction between numerous factors, such as prescribers’ knowledge and experiences, diagnostic uncertainty, perceptions of patients in relation to the patient-prescriber interaction, and insufficient patient education by physicians. [5-10]…”

“…The improper use of antibiotics may arise from a complex interaction between numerous factors, such as prescribers' knowledge and experiences, diagnostic uncertainty, perceptions of patients in relation to the patient-prescriber interaction, and insufficient patient education by physicians. [5][6][7][8][9][10] Irrational use of antibiotics also involves self-medication. The situation is serious in developing countries because of self-medication without prescription, over-the-counter sales of antibiotics, inadequate regulation of antibiotics, high cost of medical consultations, and dissatisfaction with medical practitioners.…”

Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship program in Nepal

“…Several studies have been performed on this subject in Nepal, with similar results. 25,26 Our program benefitted from having both an infectious disease specialist and a doctor of pharmacy on the team. Educational programming, group discussions, and individual discussions were helpful in addressing this challenge but required significant time and effort.…”

Antibiotics Prescription, Dispensing Practices and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern in Common Pathogens in Nepal: A Narrative Review

“…Antibiotics are one of the mostly prescribed among all drugs and frequently used to treat infections. [25][26][27] Prescribing drugs is done by the physicians at the hospital level and non-physicians (paramedics such as health assistants) at the primary health care level in Nepal. 23,28,29 Since the qualifications, training and authorities for prescribing drugs is different among these prescribers, their prescribing practices need to be regularly monitored.…”