Background: Improper antibiotic usage can cause resistance. Causes are multifactorial including prescription by doctors for non-bacterial infections, dispensing by pharmacist without prescription, and not completing patientÂ’s course. Medical students are at a transitional zone between the general population and active practitioners. Good attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors will lead to better practice. In this study, we assessed the
attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors of medical students of Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University toward antibiotic usage.
Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 4th, 5th, and 6th year medical students using a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 245 students completed the questionnaire (123 males and 122 females). The gathered information included sociodemographics (e.g., age, gender, and level of education). The questionnaire included questions related to attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors toward the antibiotic usage. The data were collected between December 2018 and January 2019. The data were analyzed using SPSS. The initial analysis included calculating mean and standard deviation for continuous variables along with frequency and percentages for categorical variables.
Results: The study showed that 47.8% of the participants had positive attitudes toward antibiotic usage. About 80% had an average level of behavior toward antibiotic usage. Still, some gaps are present as 7.8% and 4.5% of medical students thought that antibiotics can be used in treating fever and viral infections, respectively.
Conclusion: This study showed general proper knowledge and attitudes toward antibiotic usage. However, few gaps of knowledge and partially improper behavior were detected.
Key words: Antibiotic usage, attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, Saudi Arabia, medical students
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