Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Antibiotics among Medical and Dental Students in Indian University: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kaushik Tarun; Setya Sonal  lowast

doi:10.58739/jcbs/v14i4.131

Article

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Antibiotics among Medical and Dental Students in Indian University: A Cross-Sectional Study

VIEWS 20
PDF 9

Journal of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences

DOI: 10.58739/jcbs/v14i4.131

Year: 2024, Volume: 14, Issue: 4, Pages: 148-158

Original Article

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Towards Antibiotics among Medical and Dental Students in Indian University: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kaushik Tarun¹, Setya Sonal^2∗

¹Gurugram Global College of Pharmacy, Farukhnagar, Gurugram, 122506, Haryana, India
²Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, SGT University, Gurugram, 122505, Haryana, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:06 September 2024, Accepted Date:21 October 2024, Published Date:20 December 2024

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Background : Inappropriate use of antibiotics contributes to global antimicrobial resistance. Evaluating knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among university students who are future prescribers can improve antibiotic use. Objectives : This study assesses the KAP of antibiotics among medical and dental students in India, aiming to identify educational gaps to better combat antimicrobial resistance. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 400 medical and dental university students, following the approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. Students willing to participate were included. Pilot study on 30 students ensured questionnaire's reliability (Cronbach's alpha: 0.82). Data were analyzed using SPSS with Pearson’s chi-square test for KAP factor relationships and Mann Whitney U test for comparing KAP between students. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results : 232 (58%) medical and 168 (42%) dental students participated. 80.49% medical students demonstrated significantly higher knowledge [median, Interquartile range 16(15,18)] than 73.9% dental students [median, Interquartile range 15(13,17)] (p:0.001, z:4.96). 82.29% medical and 80.72% dental students responded correctly to the attitude section, indicating strong awareness about responsible antibiotic use. Practice dimension showed correct responses from 72.34% (medical) and (72.12%) dental students, emphasizing the need to better apply knowledge and attitudes in practice. Overall, 77.2% of participants exhibited adequate knowledge, 81.5% displayed positive attitude and 72.23% engaged in good practices. Conclusions: These findings suggest revising curricula and implementing targeted programs, particularly for dental students, to enhance antibiotic knowledge. Practical, behavior-focused education, antimicrobial stewardship, and targeted interventions are essential for future prescribers. Further research with larger populations is needed to generalize these practices across healthcare.

Keywords: Antibiotics, AntiMicrobial resistance, KAP, Dentistry, Medicine, Prescribers

References

Ventola CL. The antibiotic resistance crisis: part 1: causes and threats. P&T. 2015;40(4):277–283. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4378521/pdf/ptj4004277.pdf
Friedman ND, Temkin E, Carmeli Y. The negative impact of antibiotic resistance. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2016;22(5):416–422. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2015.12.002
Dadgostar P. Antimicrobial Resistance: Implications and Costs. Infection and Drug Resistance. 2019;12:3903–3910. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S234610
Urbi Z, Azmi N, Hossain M. Antimicrobial Role of Glycosaminoglycans: Beyond Bacterial Adhesion to Host Cell. In: The 1st International Electronic Conference on Antibiotics session Antimicrobial Discovery, Development, Stewardship and Susceptibility Testing. MDPI. 2021.
Kakkar M, Walia K, Vong S, Chatterjee P, Sharma A. Antibiotic resistance and its containment in India. BMJ. 2017;358. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2687
Iqbal A. The Attitudes of Dentists Towards the Prescription of Antibiotics During Endodontic Treatment in North of Saudi Arabia. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 2015;9(5):ZC82–ZC84. Available from: https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/5964/13718_CE[Ra]_F(P)_PF1(PAK)_PFA(AK)_PF2(AGAK).pdf
Dar-Odeh NS, Abu-Hammad OA, Al-Omiri MK, Khraisat AS, Shehabi AA. Antibiotic prescribing practices by dentists: a review. Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management. 2010;6:301–306. Available from: https://doi.org/10.2147/tcrm.s9736
Vessal G, Khabiri A, Mirkhani H, Cookson BD, Askarian M. Study of antibiotic prescribing among dental practitioners in Shiraz, Islamic Republic of Iran. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal. 2011;17(10):763–769. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22256411/
Laxminarayan R, Duse A, Wattal C, Zaidi AK, Wertheim HF, Sumpradit N, et al. Antibiotic resistance-the need for global solutions. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2013;13(12):1057–1098. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(13)70318-9
Zahabiyoun S, Sahabi M, Kharazi MJ. Improving Knowledge of General Dental Practitioners on Antibiotic Prescribing by Raising Awareness of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) Guidelines. Journal of dentistry (Tehran). 2015;12(3):171–176. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26622268/
Jenny A, Nagar P, Raghunath VN, Lakhotia R, Nihala KF, Ninawe N. Prescription Pattern of Antibiotics among General Dental Practitioners in Karnataka-A Cross-Sectional Survey. Dental Journal of Advance Studies. 2022;10(10):9–14. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1748164
Chatterjee S, Hazra A, Chakraverty R, Shafiq N, Pathak A, Trivedi N, et al. Knowledge, attitude, and practice survey on antimicrobial use and resistance among Indian clinicians: A multicentric, cross-sectional study. Perspectives in Clinical Research. 2022;13(2):99–105. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.picr_21_20
Alfaifi MS, . Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medical Student towards Antibiotic Resistance and Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: A Cross-Sectional. Archives of Pharmacy Practice. 2023;14(3):91–97. Available from: https://doi.org/10.51847/plnXeYzWYc
Singh K, Kumar B, Singh M, Preeti. Knowledge, attitude and practice study about antibiotics usage among medical undergraduates of a tertiary care teaching hospital of Haryana, India: an observational cross-sectional study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 2021;8(10):5001–5005. Available from: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20213810
Cheoun ML, Heo J, Kim WH. Antimicrobial Resistance: KAP of Healthcare Professionals at a Tertiary-Level Hospital in Nepal. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health .... 2021;18(19):1–13. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910062
Horvat O, Petrović AT, Kusturica MP, Bukumirić D, Jovančević B, Kovačević Z. Survey of the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice towards Antibiotic Use among Prospective Antibiotic Prescribers in Serbia. Antibiotics (Basel) .. 2022;11(8):1–13. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11081084
Roos C, Aishah N, Bakar MA, Haque M, Knowledge. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Malaysian Medical Students, Doctors, other Health Professionals and Common People Regarding Antibiotic Use, Prescribing and Resistance. A Systematic Review. Advances in Human Biology. 2019;9(3):179–183. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/adhb/fulltext/2019/09030/knowledge,_attitude_and_practice_among_malaysian.2.aspx
Ritchie O, Shetty V, Prabhu S, Shetty AK. Confidence in Antibiotic Prescribing Intentions among Senior Medical Students in India. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 2020;103(6):2561–2567. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0193
Mate VH, Dhande P, Khade K, Gupta A, Kumar D. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotic use: An interventional study among medical and dental undergraduates. National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology. 2022;12(3):350–355. Available from: https://www.ejmanager.com/mnstemps/28/28-1630908431.pdf

Copyright

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Published By Sri Devaraj Urs Academy of Higher Education, Kolar, Karnataka