Evaluation of the understanding of antibiotic resistance among Malaysian pharmacy students at public universities: An exploratory study

Background: Infectious diseases are a great threat to humankind, and antibiotics are a viable proposition to numerous pathologies. However, antibiotic resistance is a global concern. Therefore, the aims of this survey were to explore the understanding and attitudes of pharmacy students regarding antibiotic use and resistance. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted on final-year undergraduate pharmacy students from 5 public universities. A validated, self-administered questionnaire written in English was used to collect data. It was made up of six domains and forty-five questions. Raosoft software was used to determine the minimum required sample size. Descriptive and inferential data analyses were carried out using SPSS version 20 software. Results: Out of 346 students, only 59.5% showed a strong understanding of antibiotic usage, while 84.4% of students demonstrated a good level of understanding regarding the issue of antibiotic resistance. However, only 34.1% of students demonstrated a positive attitude toward this issue. Conclusion: This survey reveals that final-year pharmacy students at Malaysian public universities have a relatively good understanding of antibiotic resistance. However, their attitudes did not strongly correlate to their knowledge. (C) 2014 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited. All rights reserved.