Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice

Knowledge, attitude and practice of B.Sc. Pharmacy students about antibiotics in Trinidad and Tobago

Authors

. Akram Ahmad 1
. Muhammad Umair Khan 1
. Isha Patel 2
. Sandeep Maharaj 3
. Sureshwar Pandey 3
. Sameer Dhingra 3

1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2 Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Shenandoah University, Winchester, USA

3 Department of Pharmacy Practice, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of 
B.Sc. Pharmacy students about usage and resistance of antibiotics in Trinidad and Tobago.
Methods: This was a cross‑sectional questionnaire‑based study involving B.Sc. Pharmacy 
students. The questionnaire was divided into five components including Demographics data, 
knowledge about antibiotic use, attitude toward antibiotic use and resistance, self‑antibiotic usage 
and possible causes of antibiotic resistance. Data were analyzed by employing Mann–Whitney 
and Chi‑square tests using SPSS version 20.
Findings: The response rate was 83.07%. The results showed good knowledge of antibiotic 
use among students. The overall attitude of pharmacy students was poor. About 75% of 
participants rarely use antibiotics, whereas self‑decision was the major reason of antibiotic 
use (40.7%) and main source of information was retail pharmacist (42.6%). Common cold and 
flu is a major problem for which antibiotics were mainly utilized by pharmacy students(35.2%).
Conclusion: The study showed good knowledge of pharmacy students regarding antibiotic 
usage. However, students’ attitude towards antibiotic use was poor. The study recommends 
future studies to be conducted with interventional design to improve knowledge and attitude 
of pharmacy students about antibiotic use and resistance.

Keywords

Antibiotics
knowledge
pharmacy students
resistance
Trinidad and Tobago
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Journal of Research in Pharmacy Practice
Volume 4, Issue 1
Winter 2015
Pages 37-41

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