Abstract:
Background: Antibiotic resistance (AR) has become a major global health problem. Poor
knowledge about antibiotic usage and malpractices have directly contributed to the development
of AR. As healthcare providers, identifying the knowledge of health science students on AR is
important in planning effective interventions aiming for safe usage of antibiotics.
Objectives: To assess the knowledge of AR among first year undergraduates of Faculty of
Allied Health Science, University of Ruhuna.
Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Voluntary undergraduates in the first
semester of the first academic year in 2021, not studied about antibiotics and AR during their
academic programme, were recruited. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed via a
Google form during organized zoom meetings. It consisted of 17 questions to assess knowledge
on antibiotics and AR. Each correct answer was given one mark and zero mark was given for a
wrong answer. Total knowledge score was calculated out of 17 for each participant. Frequencies
and percentages of participants with correct answers were calculated using the SPSS version
26.0.
Results: Among the participants (n=190) more than 70% were females. Mean (SD) age was 22
(0.86) years. Approximately 79% (n=151) had a total knowledge score <9 indicating below
average knowledge about antibiotics and AR. Of participants, 90% (n=169) knew that
antibiotics are used against pathogenic bacteria. However, the majority were not aware about
the development of AR (92%, n=174) and its impact on curing infections (84%, n=158). More
than 30% (n=65) had the false belief that antibiotics should be used always to cure diseases such
as the common cold. Significant numbers of participants (54.5%) were not aware about the
reasons for developing AR. Majority (60%, n=115) believed that if a person feels better after
partially completing the antibiotic course, he/she can terminate the therapy immediately.
Conclusions: Majority of study participants had poor knowledge about proper usage of
antibiotics and development of AR. Improving the knowledge about rational usage of antibiotics
is essential to prevent development of antibiotics resistance which could generate fatal
situations in future.
