Abstract

Background: Antibiotic resistance is occurring everywhere in the world. A fundamental cause of the increased antimicrobial resistance is self medication with drugs on one’s initiative without consulting a qualified medical practitioner. The present study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding antibiotic use and abuse among students of Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj.
Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional study done for 3 months from September 2018 to November 2018. It was conducted among 400 students (both male and female) of Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj, using an electronic questionnaire.
Results: The mean score of the study population was 67.40%, ranging from 23.08% to 92.31%. The mean practice score was 51.08%.
Conclusion: In this study, the respondents’ age was found to be statistically significantly associated with antibiotic abuse. The authors recommend the need for lectures and symposiums to appraise college students about the impact of antibiotic resistance in medical treatments and the emergence of resistant strains of bacterial species.

Key words: Antibiotic resistance, antibiotic knowledge score.