ASSESSEMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTIONS OF UNDERGRAUTE STUDENTS (3rd and 4th YEARS ) AT LUSAKA APEX MEDICAL UNIVERSITY TOWARDS ANTIBIOTIC MISUSE AND ITS SIDE EFFECTS

Abstract

Introduction Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of antibiotics to which they were once sensitive. Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global health crisis, its estimated that 700 000 people die from ABR infections in a year, in addition to the increased mortality ABR also puts a burden on the economy in that it leads to prolonged illness which results in longer hospital stays, the need for more expensive medicines and other financial challenges. Objective To assess knowledge and perceptions of undergraduate medical students towards antibiotic misuse and its side effects. Methodology Results A total of 120 medical students were successfully enrolled to participate into the study. There were more female participants (77) representing 64.2% than males (43) students representing 35.8%. Majority of the study participants were of the age range 18-25 years of age represented at 65%. The study further showed that majority of study participants were in 3rd year of study (92) representing 76.7%. The study revealed that undergraduate medical students at LAMU had good knowledge and good attitude towards antibiotic use. However, the study also revealed that undergraduate medical students at LAMU had poor practices towards antibiotics use. Knowledge was associated with sex and year of study of the study participants (p=0.001) but was not associated with the age of the medical students. Attitude towards antibiotic use was also related to the sex of the medical student, where more females had a positive attitude than males (p=0.001). However, the practices of medical students towards antibiotics were not related to the demographic factors of medical students (p>0.05). The study therefore, showed that having good knowledge does not translate to having good practices.