Department of Environmental Health and Technology, School of Public Health, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
Excellent Center for Dengue and Community Public Health, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.
PLoS One. 2024 Jan 5;19(1):e0296822. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296822. eCollection 2024.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) have been recognized as one of the global health issues affecting humans, animals, and the environment. A lack of knowledge, negative attitudes, and irrational drug use can make significant contributions to the spread of ARB. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding antibiotic use and resistance among health science (HS) and non-health science (NHS) students and to determine the factors that influence their KAP concerning antibiotic use and resistance. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 HS and NHS students in Southern Thailand from December 2021 to March 2022. The students who fulfilled the study inclusion criteria responded to a questionnaire that had five dimensions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the qualitative variables, and Fisher's exact test was applied to compare the demographic variables, KAP responses between the HS and NHS students. The KAP regarding antibiotic use and resistance for each variable were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test. Spearman's correlation test was used to estimate the correlation between the variables and KAP. A total of 404 (HS,162; NHS,242) students completed the self-administered questionnaire. The students' highest score was for attitude, followed by practice and knowledge. Our findings revealed that the HS students had higher levels of KAP correlated with antibiotic use and resistance than the NHS students (P < 0.001). The higher KAP scores were among the more senior students, which indicates that instruction on antibiotics was effective in their curriculum. Antibiotic use and resistance knowledge and attitudes should be conveyed to all university students via academic curriculum. Such interventions could set the standard for rational antibiotic use as well as long-term prevention and control of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
抗生素耐药细菌（ARB）已被认为是影响人类、动物和环境的全球健康问题之一。缺乏知识、消极态度和不合理的药物使用可能会极大地促进 ARB 的传播。本研究旨在评估健康科学（HS）和非健康科学（NHS）学生对抗生素使用和耐药性的知识、态度和实践（KAP），并确定影响他们对抗生素使用和耐药性的 KAP 的因素。2021 年 12 月至 2022 年 3 月，在泰国南部对 404 名 HS 和 NHS 学生进行了横断面研究。符合研究纳入标准的学生回答了一份有五个维度的问卷。使用描述性统计分析定性变量，Fisher 确切检验用于比较 HS 和 NHS 学生的人口统计学变量、KAP 对抗生素使用和耐药性的反应。使用 Mann-Whitney U 检验和 Kruskal-Wallis H 检验比较每个变量的 KAP 关于抗生素使用和耐药性的反应。Spearman 相关检验用于估计变量与 KAP 之间的相关性。共有 404 名（HS，162；NHS，242）学生完成了自我管理的问卷。学生的最高分数是态度，其次是实践和知识。我们的研究结果表明，HS 学生的 KAP 与抗生素使用和耐药性的相关性高于 NHS 学生（P < 0.001）。高年级学生的 KAP 得分较高，这表明他们的课程中对抗生素的教学是有效的。应该通过学术课程向所有大学生传授抗生素使用和耐药性的知识和态度。这种干预措施可以为合理使用抗生素以及长期预防和控制抗生素耐药细菌设定标准。
