Knowledge and attitudes towards appropriate antibiotics usage among students-a survey

Abstract

Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. WHO estimates that more than half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and that half of all patients fail to take them correctly. The overuse, underuse or misuse of medicines results in wastage of scarce resources and widespread health hazard. The objective of the study is to evaluate the knowledge and Attitude towards appropriate antibiotic use among students. A 15 item web based questionnaire was developed and employed to collect data from pharmacy students at Ezhuthachan College of pharmaceutical sciences. The survey will gather demographic information and collect data on knowledge, expectations and current antibiotic usage among students.A total of 55 students participated in the study, among the respondents about 60% of respondents believed that they could stop taking antibiotics if their symptoms of infection improved. over a half of the respondents (68%) believed that antibiotics are effective for most of the colds and around half of  them (40%) stated that, they prefer to keep antibiotics at home for emergencies. About 58% would give their antibiotics to a family member if they caught an infection, 44% of respondents identified that, they have bought an antibiotic from community pharmacies without a prescription.The study shows that the pharmacy students has a number of misconceptions relating to appropriate antibiotic use, particularly relating to use of antibiotics for treatment of viral infections. As antibiotics are widely used in students, proper education should be given about rational use of antibiotics.