IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AMONG MEDICAL UNDERGRADUATES

Dr. Sandhya Rani Gautam*, Dr. Preeta Kaur Chugh, Dr. Yangshen Lhamo, Dr. Rajeshwari Gore and Dr. Chakra Dhar Tripathi

ABSTRACT

Background: Globally, resistance to antimicrobial agents (AMA) has been recognized as a major health concern. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on the knowledge of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among medical undergraduates. This will not only boost their understanding but also act as a guide in the development of effective interventions for containment of AMR. Methods: We administered a 16 point questionnaire, before and after a 1 hour interactive educational lecture on rational use of AMA, development of AMR and measures to curb it. Individual question changes and overall student changes were analysed. All hypothesis tests were two tailed with a significance level of 0.05. Results: Of the 450 participants, 357 (79.3%) took the pre-test and post-test and were present for the interactive educational lecture. Most of them (89%) were aware that an AMA should be taken for a required duration to ensure complete therapy. However, many believed that AMA speed up the recovery of common cold and cough (51.3%). Significant improvements (p< 0.001) were seen with the largest improvement seen with those questions that discussed that administration of newer AMA and fixed dose combinations translate into higher cure rates. Conclusion: This AMR awareness initiative resulted in significant improvement in medical undergraduates‟ knowledge of rational use of AMA. Promoting AMR awareness, if replicated across populations could lead to positive health outcomes.

Keywords: Antimicrobial Resistance, Antimicrobial Agents, Multidrug Resistance, Antibiotics, Knowledge Awareness, Educational Intervention.