Faculty of Medicine, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, State of Palestine.
Faculty of Science and Technology, Al-Quds University, Jerusalem, State of Palestine.
J Environ Public Health. 2023 Jan 30;2023:2294048. doi: 10.1155/2023/2294048. eCollection 2023.
Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem worldwide. Dispensing antibiotics without prescription is a major contributing factor to antibiotic resistance. Pharmacists as healthcare providers are, in many studies, considered responsible for this practice. This study aims to explore Palestinian pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning antibiotic resistance. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021-2022. A random sample of 152 pharmacists was selected from the West Bank. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that includes five sections: demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, practices, and potential interventions. Results indicated that 60% of pharmacists dispense antibiotics without a prescription. A significant association between pharmacies' locality and antibiotic knowledge, attitudes, and practices was found. Pharmacists' knowledge-related responses indicated that 92.1% of the pharmacists agreed that inappropriate use of antibiotics can lead to ineffective treatment and 86.2% disagreed that patients can stop taking antibiotics upon symptoms' improvement. Only 17.1% disagreed that antibiotics should always be used to treat upper respiratory tract infections. Over two-thirds considered that they are aware of the regulations about antibiotic dispensing and acknowledged that antibiotics are classified as prescription drugs. Furthermore, 71.7% and 53.3% agreed that they have good knowledge of the pharmacological aspects of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. Concerning attitudes, 75.6% agreed that antibiotic resistance is an important and serious public health issue facing the world, and 52% thought that antibiotic dispensing without a prescription is a common practice in the West Bank. Our findings indicate that pharmacists' locality and practices related to antibiotic dispensing without prescription are associated with the increase in antibiotics misuse and bacterial resistance. There is a need to design education and training programs and implement legislation in Palestine to decrease antibiotic resistance.
抗生素耐药性是一个全球性的日益严重的问题。未经处方配药是导致抗生素耐药性的一个主要因素。在许多研究中，药剂师作为医疗保健提供者被认为对此种做法负有责任。本研究旨在探讨巴勒斯坦药剂师对抗生素耐药性的知识、态度和实践。2021-2022 年进行了一项描述性横断面调查。从西岸随机抽取了 152 名药剂师作为样本。使用自填式问卷收集数据，问卷包括五个部分：人口统计学特征、知识、态度、实践和潜在干预措施。结果表明，60%的药剂师未经处方配药。发现药房所在地与抗生素知识、态度和实践之间存在显著关联。药剂师知识相关的回答表明，92.1%的药剂师同意抗生素使用不当会导致治疗无效，86.2%不同意患者在症状改善后可以停止服用抗生素。只有 17.1%不同意抗生素应始终用于治疗上呼吸道感染。超过三分之二的人认为他们了解有关抗生素配药的规定，并承认抗生素被归类为处方药。此外，71.7%和 53.3%的人认为他们对抗生素的药理学方面和抗生素耐药性有很好的了解。关于态度，75.6%的人同意抗生素耐药性是全球面临的一个重要而严重的公共卫生问题，52%的人认为在西岸未经处方配药是一种常见做法。我们的研究结果表明，药剂师所在地和与未经处方配药相关的实践与抗生素滥用和细菌耐药性的增加有关。巴勒斯坦需要设计教育和培训计划并实施立法，以减少抗生素耐药性。
