A STUDY ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF ANTIBIOTIC USAGE AMONG PHARMACY STUDENTS IN COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, SRI RAMACHANDRA MEDICAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE (DU): AN DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

Aim and Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of antibiotic usage among pharmacy students of various program in Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (DU) by using KAP questionnaire. Methodology: It’s a descriptive analysis conducted in 310 students for the period of 4 months. Students from various courses from pharmacy discipline were included in this study. Who are not willing to participate or not return the questionnaire within a time period were excluded. After getting written informed consent, then the pharmacy Student’s knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) were assessed using validated questionnaire. This questionnaire was got permission from the author. It consists of total of 15 questions. For Knowledge domain contain four questions, which are open ended questions. For attitude and practice domains have rated response of five point likert scale. Results: About 61 % of the pharmacy students agreed that bacteria are not the reason to cause common cold and flu, the response obtained in our study is significantly high. Whereas 53 % of the students agreed that consulting a doctor before starting an antibiotic is an important / integral part in the therapy. Unexpectedly, 22 % students concurred that antibiotics are safe drugs can use commonly. Conclusion: The overall result depicts that the pharmacy students have fair knowledge, attitude and practice on use of antibiotics in various circumstances. The Key findings of this study are to establish future interventions to improve appropriate use of antibiotics.