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Knowledge and Attitude Towards Antibiotic Restriction Law and its Impact on Usage among Medical Students in Saudi Arabia
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| Author:
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, ABDULRAHMAN ALSULTAN, MOHAMMAD AYOOB LONE, GIRISH MERAVANIGE, NAGARAJA SREEHARSHA
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| Abstract:
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Background: Resistance to antibiotics is serious concern around the world and this problem is increasing drastically in the past few decades. In the recent past, Saudi government had established new law for dispensing antibiotics without prescription.
Aim: The present study aims to evaluate the knowledge and attitude towards antibiotic restriction law and its impact on usage among medical students in Saudi Arabia
Method: An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 313 (Male =173, Females =140) students studying in college of medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia between July, 2020 and December 2020. A self-administered questionnaire included items on demographic characteristics, knowledge and attitude towards antibiotic restriction law. The participants’ demographic data and scores of all measures were presented using descriptive statistics. Chi-squared was used to assess the relationship between the demographic characteristics and knowledge and attitude. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS, version 22).
Result: Overall, the participants had relatively good (72.2%) knowledge about antibiotic dispensing law. Use of antibiotic without a prescription is decreased by 8% after the new law implementation. During one year before the law, antibiotics were obtained by 10.5% students without prescription from pharmacy, 3.5% participants used previously stored and 9.6% received antibiotics from their friends, while during one year after new law for dispensing antibiotics, approximately 6.4% participants used antibiotic without prescription, 1.9% used previously stored and 2.8% received from their friends. Participants expressed positive 73 (23.3%), moderate 162 (51.7%) and low 78 (25.0%) attitude towards new law for dispensing antibiotics.
Conclusion: Despite of new law for dispensing antibiotics, this is still misuse of antibiotics which indicate need of awareness programmes and campaigns to improve the knowledge about antibiotics.
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| Keyword:
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Antibiotic Restriction Law, Antibiotic resistance, Medical students, Saudi Arabia.
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| EOI:
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| DOI:
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https://doi.org/10.31838/ijpr/2021.13.02.432
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| Download:
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