Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviors and Information Sources on Antibiotic Use and Resistance in Jordan

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious healthcare problem that affects public health globally. Appropriate understanding and knowledge of prudent antimicrobial use and resistance, along with providing evidence-based information sources, are needed for informed antibiotic prescribing practices. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, opportunity, motivation, behavior of pharmacists and their information sources regarding antibiotic use and resistance in Jordan. An online cross-sectional questionnaire was developed and administered to pharmacists during the period of July–September 2021. The survey is an adapted version of the validated European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) survey for antibiotic use and resistance. Pharmacists from all sectors (n = 384), of whom 276 (71.9%) were community pharmacists, completed an online questionnaire. While respondents scored highly (>87%) on knowledge on effective use, unnecessary use, and associated side effects of antibiotics, lower scores were recorded for knowledge on the spread of antibiotic resistance (52.9%). Pharmacists support easy access to guidelines on managing infections in 56% of cases, and easy access to materials advising prudent antibiotic use and resistance in 39.8% of cases. One-third of respondents (37.0%) reported no knowledge of any initiatives on antibiotic awareness and resistance. Pharmacists were aware (13.3%), unaware (36.2%), or unsure (50.5%) of the existence of a national antibiotic resistance action plan. Pharmacists indicated an interest in receiving more information on resistance to antibiotics (55.2%), medical conditions for which antibiotics are used (53.1%), how to use antibiotics (45.1%), prescribing of antibiotics (34.4%), and links between the health of humans, animals, and the environment (28.6%). Findings can inform antimicrobial stewardship with required interventions to improve antibiotic use.

Antibiotic Resistance Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Pharmacists: A Cross-Sectional Study in West Bank, Palestine

“…Moreover, it was observed that more female pharmacists responded to the survey. This was also similarly observed in other recent surveys [ 42 ]. Moreover, many of the responses on the Likert scale questions were uncertain or sometimes, which might decrease the assurance of the actual responses.…”

“…Tis fnding further emphasizes the pharmacists' perception of their contribution to the problem and their approval of the importance of laws and proper enforcement of legislations. Tis role is indeed recognized by pharmacists themselves in several studies [20,41,42].…”

Antibiotic Prescribing Pattern: Pharmacy Staff Knowledge about Antibiotics at Primary Health Care Centers in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia

“…It might be the first pilot study done at the Primary Healthcare Center because most previous studies were conducted at hospitals or community pharmacies. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] The reliability test was medium, related to a small sample of participants.…”

“…25 The results showed inadequate knowledge of responders with various elements such as antibiotics could be viral or fungal infections or usage for common cold or cough and pain and general inflammation that resemble of had been reported in previous studies 24,26 and differed from other. 14,15 The pharmacy staff is expected to be a significant barrier that prevents reaching wrong medical therapy to patients, which requires a certain level of knowledge that enables them to filtrate prescriptions and catch up on any medication error committed by prescribers. However, having pharmacy staff with deficient knowledge in differentiating antivirals and anti-fungals from antibiotics is disappointing since such information is fundamental in medical care.…”

“…[9][10][11] However, evaluating pharmacist and pharmacy technician knowledge background of rational usages of antibiotics is rarely found locally. [12][13][14][15][16][17] The authors were unfamiliar with previous research on the current topics published earlier. The current research aims to determine the knowledge of the rational usage of antibiotics by pharmacy staff at primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia.…”