Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and practices about antibiotic resistance among medical students in India.

CONTEXT

To reduce the magnitude of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need to strengthen the knowledge for future prescribers regarding use and prescription of antibiotics. Before that, it is required to have a conclusive evidence about knowledge, attitude, and practices of that group.

AIM

To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and the practices of medical students in India with respect to antibiotic resistance and usage.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

It was a cross-sectional study which was done online through Google forms for a period of 4 months from July to October 2018.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A structured questionnaire containing a five-point Likert scale was sent to medical students across India by sharing link through contacts of Medical Students Association of India. Respondent-driven sampling technique was also adopted for the study.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Descriptive statistics, parametric (Chi-square), and nonparametric (Kruskal--Wallis and Mann--Whitney U) tests.

RESULTS

A total of 474 responses were received from 103 medical colleges across 22 states of India. The mean score of knowledge was 4.36 ± 0.39. As compared to first year students, knowledge was significantly higher among students of all the years. As much as 83.3% students have consumed antibiotics in previous year of the survey. Around 45% of medical students accepted that they buy antibiotics without a medical prescription.

CONCLUSION

The knowledge level of medical students was quite satisfactory. As far as attitude and practices are concerned, there is a substantial need for improvements.