Investigating Knowledge of Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship Concepts Among Final Year Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Northern Nigeria

Figures & data

Table 1 Respondents’ Socio-Demographic Characteristics (n = 164)

Characteristics	Variable	n (%)
Gender	Male	95 (58.3)
	Female	68 (41.7)
Age*	21–25 years	78 (53.4)
	26–30 years	60 (41.1)
	Older than 30 years	8 (5.5)
Institution	University of Jos	64 (39)
	Ahmadu Bello University	70 (42.7)
	Gombe State University	30 (18.3)

Note: *Values in this row sum up to less than the total because of missing values.

Figure 1 Respondents Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance and Related Concepts.

Table 2 Respondents’ Knowledge of Antibiotic Indications and Aspects of Antimicrobial Resistance

Aspect Assessed	Options	n (%)
Antibiotic indications	HIV/AIDS	41 (25)
	Gonorrhea	135 (82.3)
	Urinary Tract Infections	146 (89)
	Diarrhea	106 (64.6)
	Cold	85 (51.8)
	Fever	25 (15.2)
	Malaria	35 (21.3)
	Measles	64 (39)
	Skin infections	150 (91.5)
	Sore throat	102 (62.2)
Practices that Promote Antimicrobial Resistance	Widespread/overuse of antimicrobials in humans	135 (82.3)
	Widespread/overuse of antimicrobials in animal livestock production	103 (62.8)
	Use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials when narrow spectrum ones are available	109 (66.5)
	Poor handwashing practices	64 (39)
	Poor patient adherence to medication	142 (86.6)
	Substandard quality of some antimicrobial drugs	123 (75)
Interventions to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance	Developing national and institutional antimicrobial usage policies	149 (90.9)
	Reducing antimicrobial use in humans	105 (64)
	Reducing antimicrobial use in animal livestock	92 (56.1)
	Establishing centers for national antimicrobial resistance surveillance	142 (86.6)
	Educating health professionals and members of the public on rational antimicrobial use	154 (93.9)
	Developing new antimicrobial drugs	70 (42.7)

Table 3 Respondents’ Knowledge of Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Resistance and Related Concepts (n = 164)

	Statement	True n (%)	False n (%)	I do Not Know n (%)
1	There are many classes of antibiotics	162 (98.8)	2 (1.2)	0
2	Antibiotics can kill normal bacterial flora in the body*	131 (81.9)	21 (13.1)	8 (5)
3	Better use of antibiotics will not have an impact on antimicrobial resistance*	78 (48.5)	80 (49.7)	3 (1.8)
4	Prescribing broad spectrum antibiotics is always better even if there are narrower spectrum antibiotics that are effective	21 (12.8)	134 (81.7)	9 (5.5)
5	Antibiotics should be used within the community for prophylaxis of infections like typhoid and pneumonia*	45 (27.6)	96 (58.9)	22 (13.5)
6	Patients should stop taking their prescribed/recommended antibiotics as soon as they start to feel better	12 (7.3)	150 (91.5)	2 (1.2)
7	Antibiotic resistant infections could make medical procedures like surgery, organ transplants and cancer treatment much more difficult	114 (69.5)	32 (19.5)	18 (11)
8	Antibiotic resistance occurs when the human body becomes resistant to antibiotics, and they no longer work*	125 (77.7)	34 (21.1)	2 (1.2)
9	Antimicrobial resistance is only a problem for people who use antibiotics*	71 (44.4)	80 (50)	9 (5.6)
10	*Intravenous antibiotic therapy is preferred over oral therapy for most patients	45 (28)	83 (51.5)	33 (20.5)

Note: *Values in these rows sum up to less than the total because of missing values.

Table 4 Respondents’ Knowledge of Antimicrobial Stewardship Concepts

Area Assessed	Options	n (%)
Scope of AMS	The study of antimicrobials	42 (52.5)
	Choosing antimicrobials appropriately	75 (93.8)
	Selecting suitable dosing regimens for antimicrobials	60 (75)
	Selecting suitable routes of administration for antimicrobials	47 (58.8)
	Choosing appropriate duration of therapy for antimicrobial drugs	54 (67.5)
Goals of AMS	Increasing antimicrobial use	11 (13.8)
	Reducing hospital stay	48 (60)
	Increasing duration of antimicrobial therapy to ensure maximum therapeutic efficacy	22 (27.5)
	Increasing the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics	11 (13.8)
	Reducing antimicrobial resistance	76 (95)
	Minimizing toxicity and other adverse effects of antimicrobials	65 (81.3)
Members of the AMS team	Doctors	79 (98.8)
	Occupational therapists	24 (30)
	Hospital pharmacists	74 (92.5)
	Community pharmacists	56 (70)
	Hospital cleaning staff	17 (21.3)
	Nurses	65 (81.3)
	Laboratory scientists	56 (70)
Roles for pharmacists with respect to AMS	Promoting optimal use of antimicrobial agents	69 (86.3)
	Prescribing antimicrobial agents over the counter	22 (27.5)
	Educating other healthcare professionals about antimicrobials	74 (92.5)
	Working with therapeutic committees to develop antimicrobial usage policies	68 (85)
	Tracking and reporting antimicrobial consumption patterns	66 (82.5)

Table 5 Respondents’ Self-Assessment of Their Knowledge of Antimicrobials, Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship

Statement	Agreed n (%)	Neutral n (%)	Disagreed n (%)
I feel prepared to know whether to recommend an antimicrobial to a patient or not	133 (81.1)	25 (15.2)	6 (3.7)
I feel prepared to know when to recommend that a patient start antimicrobial therapy	134 (81.7)	25 (15.2)	5 (3.1)
I feel prepared to know how to select the best antimicrobial for a patient*	109 (67.7)	46 (28.6)	6 (3.7)
I feel prepared to know which route of administration is best for a patients’ antimicrobial therapy.	115 (70.1)	37 (22.6)	12 (7.3)
I know the correct and relevant specimens to be collected from patients that can be used to identify various infections*	85 (52.2)	60 (36.8)	18 (11)
My current knowledge of antimicrobials is adequate for my future career as a pharmacist*	74 (45.4)	58 (35.6)	31 (19)
My current knowledge of antimicrobial resistance is adequate for my future career as a pharmacist	73 (44.5)	63 (38.4)	28 (17.1)
My current knowledge of antimicrobial stewardship is adequate for my future career as a pharmacist*	53 (32.3)	64 (39.8)	44 (27.4)
I would like more education on the appropriate use of antimicrobials*	146 (90.1)	11 (6.8)	5 (3.1)
I would like more education on antimicrobial resistance	154 (93.9)	8 (4.9)	2 (1.2)
I would like more education on antimicrobial stewardship*	149 (91.4)	11 (6.8)	3 (1.8)

Note: *Values in these rows sum up to less than the total because of missing values.