Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotic use among diploma nursing students at Mwanza College of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, Tanzania

Peter E Kinyaiya CUHAS/BP/3000541/T/18

Knowledge, attitude and practice of antibiotic use among diploma nursing students at Mwanza College of Health and Allied Sciences, Mwanza, Tanzania - Mwanza, Tanzania: Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS – Bugando] ©25.08.2022 - viii; 28 Pages Includes References and Appendices

Abstract:

Background: Antibiotics use in preventive and curable therapy have saved life of countless patients and improved patient care in general. Inappropriate attitudes and lack of knowledge towards the use of antibiotics is a high-risk factor contributing to the rise of AMR cases. In Tanzania the problem of AMR keeps on increasing due to inappropriate use of the antibiotics with prevalence of 80% to 85% in retail pharmacies and other drug outlets. Adequate education should be provided to medical students on rational use of antibiotics to tackle AMR.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among diploma nursing students at MWACHAS, Mwanza. A self-administered structured questionnaire was distributed conveniently to gather socio-demographic characteristics and data on knowledge, attitude and practice towards antibiotic use. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Associations between dependent and independent variables were done using a Chi-square test. The statistical significance was done at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).

Result: One hundred and thirty five diploma nursing students participated in the study. Slightly majority of participants were male 81(60%) and their median age was 21[17-31] years. The study found that 128 (94.8%) of respondents had good knowledge on antibiotics use. Also the study found that 83 (61.5%) of respondents had positive attitude and 71 (52.6%) of respondents had good practices towards antibiotics use. There were no significant difference in knowledge, attitude and practice on antibiotic use and year of the study with a p value, 0.187, 0.08, and 0.304 respectively.

Conclusions: Despite of having adequate knowledge and attitude toward antibiotic use, the practice among medical students towards antibiotic use is still not good enough as most of students misuse antibiotics that can contribute in antibiotic resistance.
= Operational definition Antibiotic are chemical agents that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria. Operational definition Attitude: is defined as the way community think and behave towards antibiotics use Operational definition Knowledge is the personal awareness about antibiotic use. Operational definition Practice is the personal habitual involvement to appropriate use of antibiotics. = Abbreviation AMR Antimicrobial Resistance BMC Bugando Medical Centre CUHAS Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences MWACHAS Mwanza College of Health and Allied Sciences NAP National Action Plan WHO World Health Organization

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