Abstract:

Background: Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become the most alarming problem in the 21st century where bacterial infections become difficult to treat as they require second line antibiotics. This problem highly affects the community where antibiotics are easily accessed from pharmacies without prescriptions.

Methods: This was descriptive, cross-sectional study. Self-administered questionnaires were completed by pharmaceutical personnel in community pharmacies in Mwanza city.

Results: A total of 217 respondents were enrolled in the study where, 116 were males and 106 females. There were three groups of dispensers which included 15 pharmacists. 1111 pharmacy technicians and 91 pharmaceutical assistants. I did find that 61% of participants had adequate knowledge of antibiotic resistance, 35% had good knowledge while only 4% had a poor knowledge. The most encountered infections in the community were UTI and URTI and the most dispensed antibiotics without prescriptions being amoxicillin and ciprofloxacin. Practice and attitude depended on how patients presented themselves in pharmacies seeking for antibiotics, however some participants (5%) did not know what an STG is while 41% relied on experience when dispensing and only 54% referred to STG.

Conclusion: Majority of participants had adequate knowledge concerning antibiotic resistance, the right practice is hindered by several factors like patient influence and nature of the business that demands more profit to flourish. Attitude of participants was not always positive as it depended on how each participant saw the problem of resistance from their own point of view.

Recommendation: Campaigns should be established to address the issue of resistance in the community and the government should consider loosening the burden of tax impositions so that pharmaceutical personnel can maintain good practice in dispensing. Further studies should be done to determine prevalence of antibiotics resistance in communities of Tanzania.