A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial stewardship in Malaysia

Khan, Muhammad Umair and Ahmad, Amir and Abujabal, Hassali and Elkalmi, Ramadan Mohamed Mahmod (2016) A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial stewardship in Malaysia. Value in Health, 19 (3). A25-A25. ISSN 1098-3015

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Abstract

Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance is the most recognized public health problem worldwide. Injudicious use of antibiotics significantly contributes to this problem.Antimicrobials are amongst the most utilized drugs in Malaysia. Antimicrobial stewardship programs seek to optimize the use of antibiotics. Community pharmacists play an important role in executing these programs as they process medication orders and counsel patients on the appropriate use of antibiotics. The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions and practices of community pharmacists towards antimicrobial stewardship in Selangor, Malaysia. Methods: The study was conducted in Selangor, one of the most prosperous states in Malaysia. Selangor has a population of about 3.75 million, and the total number of registered community pharmacies in Selangor is 297. A cross-sectional study was conducted for the period of 2 months, using a self-administered, pre-tested questionnaire among randomly selected community pharmacists in Selangor, Malaysia. Results: A total of 225 participants were contacted to achieve a required sample size of 188 (response rate = 83.5%). The majority of the participants strongly agreed that the antimicrobial stewardship program is essential to improve patient care (96.8%). However, more than half of the pharmacists were neutral in their opinion about the incorporation of antimicrobial stewardship programs in community pharmacies (54.2%). Though collaboration was often done by the pharmacists with other health professionals over the use of antibiotics (n=104, 55.3%), a significant proportion of the participants (54.2%) rarely/occasionally participate in antimicrobial awareness campaigns. Qualification of the participants was significantly associated with the perceptions and practices of the respondents (p<0.05). While the experiences was the determining factor with respect to the perceptions of participants towards antimicrobial stewardship (p<0.05). Conclusions: The perceptions and practices of community pharmacists were positive towards antimicrobial stewardship. Further studies are warranted to validate these results by including community pharmacists from other states of Malaysia

Item Type:	Article (Meeting Abstract)
Additional Information:	6718/58683
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cross-sectional survey; Community Pharmacists;Antimicrobial; Stewardship in Malaysia
Subjects:	R Medicine > RD Surgery R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Pharmacy
Depositing User:	Dr. RAMADAN ELKALMI
Date Deposited:	05 Oct 2017 16:45
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2017 16:49
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/58683

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