Asante Kwaku Poku, Boamah Ellen Abrafi, Abdulai Martha Ali, Buabeng Kwame Ohene, Mahama Emmanuel, Dzabeng Francis, Gavor Edith, Annan Edith Andrews, Owusu-Agyei Seth, Gyansa-Lutterodt Martha
Kintampo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo, Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana.
Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Services, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2017 Jun 20;17(1):422. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2365-2.
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) has become a major public health challenge in most parts of the world including Ghana and is a major threat to gain in bacterial disease control. The role of prescribers in the control of antibiotics is identified as crucial in developing interventions to control ABR. To guide policy recommendations on ABR, a study was carried out among prescribers to identify gaps in their knowledge of ABR and to document their prescription practices.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among prescribers from both public and private facilities in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana using both quantitative and qualitative methods in 2014.
Three hundred and seventy nine prescribers participated in the quantitative study and a subset of 33 participated in in-depth interviews. Majority (50.0%) of the prescribers interviewed were nurses. Most (51.0%) of the prescribers were located in hospitals. Knowledge of ABR was high among all the prescribers. About 80.0% percent of all prescribers agreed that the antibiotics that are currently used could lose its efficacy in future. There is no singular formal source of information on antibiotic resistance. The prescribers held a strong perception that antibiotic resistance is imminent though their knowledge on various resistant bacterial strains was limited. Prescribers attributed ABR burden to factors such as poor prescription practices and limited ABR control measures. The prescription practices of the prescribers vary but were mostly inappropriate among the lower cadre.
The knowledge of ABR is high among prescribers. There is however a gap in the knowledge and perception of optimal antibiotic prescription practices among prescribers. There is the need for a formal source of information on ABR to support prescriber's antibiotic prescription practices.
抗生素耐药性（ABR）已成为包括加纳在内的世界大部分地区的一项重大公共卫生挑战，是控制细菌性疾病所取得进展的主要威胁。在制定控制抗生素耐药性的干预措施时，开处方者在控制抗生素方面的作用被认为至关重要。为指导关于抗生素耐药性的政策建议，对开处方者进行了一项研究，以确定他们在抗生素耐药性知识方面的差距，并记录他们的处方行为。
2014年，在加纳布朗阿哈福地区的公立和私立医疗机构的开处方者中进行了一项横断面调查，采用了定量和定性方法。
379名开处方者参与了定量研究，33名作为子样本参与了深入访谈。接受访谈的开处方者中大多数（50.0%）是护士。大多数（51.0%）开处方者在医院工作。所有开处方者对抗生素耐药性的知晓率较高。约80.0%的开处方者一致认为目前使用的抗生素将来可能会失效。没有单一的关于抗生素耐药性的正式信息来源。尽管开处方者对各种耐药菌株的了解有限，但他们强烈认为抗生素耐药性即将出现。开处方者将抗生素耐药性负担归因于处方行为不当和抗生素耐药性控制措施有限等因素。开处方者的处方行为各不相同，但在低级别人员中大多不合适。
开处方者对抗生素耐药性的知晓率较高。然而，开处方者在最佳抗生素处方行为的知识和认知方面存在差距。需要有一个关于抗生素耐药性的正式信息来源来支持开处方者的抗生素处方行为。
