Perception and practices of public hospital pharmacists towards the antimicrobial stewardship programme in the State of Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

ObjectiveThe increase in antimicrobial resistance and the lack of new antimicrobial agents in drug discovery pipelines have called for global attention to mitigate the problem of antimicrobial misuse. While an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme has been implemented in Malaysia, the perception and practices of public hospital pharmacists remain unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the perception and practices of Malaysian public hospital pharmacists towards the AMS programme in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.MethodsA cross-sectional study, using a validated 23-item self-administered questionnaire, was conducted among pharmacists from 11 public hospitals in the State of Selangor, Malaysia, from December 2016 to January 2017. All public hospital pharmacists (n=432) were invited to participate in the survey. A 5-point Likert scale was employed in the questionnaire; the perception section was scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) while the practice section was scored from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to analyse data.ResultsOf the 432 pharmacists surveyed, 199 responded, giving a response rate of 46.0%. The majority of the respondents agreed (n=190, 95.5%) that the AMS programme improves patient care at their hospitals (median=5; IQR=1). Slightly less than half of the respondents indicated that a local antibiotic guideline was established in their hospitals (median=3, IQR=2.5), and had taken part in antimicrobial awareness campaigns to promote optimal use of antimicrobials in hospitals (median=3, IQR=1).ConclusionsOverall, the perception and practices of the surveyed hospital pharmacists towards AMS programme were positive. National antibiotic guidelines, which take into consideration local antimicrobial resistance patterns, should be used fully to improve antimicrobial usage and to reduce practice variation. Collaboration among healthcare professionals should be strengthened to minimise the unfavourable consequences of unintended use of antimicrobial agents while optimising clinical outcomes.

Exploring the discord between pharmacy education and practice in antimicrobial stewardship

“…that the result of this study confirms that South African pharmacists focused their attention on monitoring antimicrobial duration and consumption and participated in AMS ward rounds. The findings of this study strengthen the preceding work confirming the growing involvement and value pharmacists in AMS participation (Kalungia et al 2019;Saleh et al 2020;Tang et al 2020).…”

“…There was overwhelming evidence that participants identified with the critical role pharmacists play in all facets of AMS. Similarly, a study by Saleh et al (2020) showed that public sector hospital pharmacists agreed that pharmacists have a responsibility to take a prominent role in AMS. These findings are encouraging as positive perceptions of pharmacists reinforce the concept of developing awareness of AMS programmes (Khan et al 2016) and enhance adherence to AMS guidelines (Kalungia et al 2019).…”

“…Numerous studies have shown the growing awareness, positive perceptions and good knowledge of pharmacists towards AMS (Erku 2020;Khan et al 2016;Saleh et al 2020;Sarwar et al 2018;Tang et al 2020). This study shows that South African pharmacists employed as clinical pharmacists as well as pharmacists performing clinical functions and involvement in AMS in both the public and private hospitals had equally good attitudes, perceptions and knowledge towards AMS.…”

Preference and usage pattern of mobile medical apps for drug information purposes among hospital pharmacists in Sarawak, Malaysia

“…Based on a margin of error of 7.5%, confidence interval of 95% and response distribution of 50%, the minimum sample size required as calculated using the Raosoft website ( http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html ) was 123. Universal sampling was chosen as the response rate of pharmacists was predicted to be between 25 and 40%, based on previous studies utilising similar distribution methods on similar population [ 14 , 15 ]. Response distribution of 50% was chosen as it will yield the most conservative minimum sample size required, as data on proportion of respondents downloading each app were not available.…”

“…html) was 123. Universal sampling was chosen as the response rate of pharmacists was predicted to be between 25 and 40%, based on previous studies utilising similar distribution methods on similar population [14,15]. Response distribution of 50% was chosen as it will yield the most conservative minimum sample size required, as data on proportion of respondents downloading each app were not available.…”